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INDIAN NOTES 
AND MONOGRAPHS 

Edited by F. W. Hodge 




A SERIES OF PUBLICA- 
TIONS RELATING TO THE 
AMERICAN ABORIGINES 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



BY 



FRANK G; SPECK 



NEW YORK 

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN 

HEYE FOUNDATION 

1922 



am 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



PART I 

STUDIES OF THE BEOTHUK AND 
MICMAC OF NEWFOUNDLAND 



BY 

FRANK G. SPECK 





5 


CONTENTS 

Part I 

PAGE 






The Micmac and the Red Indians 25 


How the Micmac and the Red Indians 


Comparative ethnological notes 30 

Table 44 


Folklore notes from the Newfoundland band 46 

The story of Buchan's expedition 49 

A meeting between a Red Indian's fam- 
ily and a Micmac family 51 


An encounter with Red Indians near 
Twillingate 52 






The informant's history 58 




Part II 


Hunting territories in Nova Scotia 86 

Table 10 ° 


Hunting territories in Cape Breton island. . 106 
Table HO 




INDIAN NOTES 





BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



PAGE 

Hunting territories in Prince Edward island. 114 

Table 116 

Hunting territories of the Micmac-Mon- 

tagnais of Newfoundland 117 

Table 132 

Ancient place-names in Newfoundland 138 

Appendix 141 

I — Cormack's observations 141 

II — Abstract of the Gluskap Trans- 
former myth 145 

Gluskap's journey 146 

Notes 149 

Index 157 



INDIAN NOTES 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Part I 

PAGE 

Pl. I. Lookout tree at Red Indian 

point 12 

II. View across Red Indian lake 

from Red Indian point 13 

III. Red Indian point, Red Indian 
lake, showing "lookout tree" 
and-beach, looking south. .... 18 

IV. The same scene as that shown in 
plate in, looking toward Mary 
March bend and point 19 

V. "Mary March's tree" at Mary 
March point, near Millertown, 

Newfoundland 22 

VI. Beothuk wigwam pit at junc- 
tion of Badger's brook and 

Exploits river 23 

VII. Log wigwam, camp of Frank Joe 
and family near St George's 

bay 30 

VIII. Another view of wigwam con- 
struction 31 

IX. Birch-bark canoes used by the 
Micmac of the Xew Brunswick 
coast, showing the feature of 
the elevated gunwale centers, 
called "humpbacks" 32 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



8 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




PAGE 




Pl, X. Canoes of the Badger's Brook 




band of Micmac 33 


XL Daughter of John Paul, Micmac- 




Montagnais of Badger's Brook, 




in caribou-skin coat and with 




" Red Indian" doll 34 




XII. Daughter of John Paul, Micmac- 




Montagnais of Badger's Brook, 




in caribou-skin coat 35 


XIII. Daughter of John Paul, Micmac- 




Montagnais of Badgers Brook, 




in caribou-skin coat 36 


XIV. Man's coat of caribou-skin with 




the hair on and with buttons 




of caribou-antler 37 


XV. Micmac-Montagnais woman at 




Badger's Brook in sealskin 




capote with snowshoes 38 




XVI. Frank Joe and wife, Micmac- 




Montagnais of St George's 




settlement, west coast of New- 




foundland 39 




XVII. Wife of Frank Joe wearing char- 




acteristic head-covering 40 




XVIII. Boots and moccasins of the Bad- 




ger's Brook band of Micmac . 41 




XIX. Loom of the Badger's Brook 




band of Micmac for weaving 




pack-straps, belts, etc 42 




XX. Woven pack-straps and spindle- 




whorl 43 




XXI. Micmac-Montagnais at Badger's 




Brook, showing method of 




using woven pack-strap 44 




INDIAN NOTES 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



51 



Pl. XXII. Tobacco-pouches of the Badger's 

Brook band of Micmac 45 

XXIII. Snowshoes of the Badger's Brook 

band of Micmac 48 

XXIV. Pick, awls and knives of the 

Badger's Brook band of Micmac 49 
XXV. Bone and antler implements of 
the Badger's Brook band of 

Micmac 50 

XXVI. Punch, needles, and chisel of the 
Badger's Brook band of Mic- 
mac 

XXVII. Wooden netting implements of 
the Badger's Brook band of 

Micmac 52 

XXVIII. Harpoon-heads, lance-heads, and 
fish-spear of the Badger's 

Brook band of Micmac 53 

XXIX. Splint basketry of the Badger's 

Brook band of Micmac 54 

XXX. Birch-bark boxes of the Badger's 

Brook band of Micmac 55 

XXXI. Fetish objects of the Badger's 

Brook band of Micmac 56 

XXXII. Micmac doll representing "Red 

Indian" (Beothuk) 57 

XXXIII. View of the country formerly the 

common property of Micmac 
and Beothuk, according to 
tradition 58 

XXXIV. Santu and her son, Joe Toney. . 59 
XXXV. Santu 60 

XXXVI. Joe Toney 61 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



10 


BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 




PAGE 




Fig. 1. Leaf of Sarracena purpurea (Pitcher 




plant) used as an improvised pipe 




by Newfoundland Indians 40 




2. Wooden dipper for molten lead in 




making bullets 42 




Part II 




Pl. XXX VII Micmac hunting camp in 




Cape Breton island 106 




XXXVIII. Micmac hunting camp in 




Cape Breton island 107 




XXXIX. Birch-bark wigwam of the 




Cape Breton Micmac. ... 114 




XL. Birch-bark wigwam of the 




Cape Breton Micmac, 




showing feature of hoop 




and inside poles 115 




XLI. Interior of wigwam of Cape 




Breton Micmac, showing 




size and placing of poles .... 1 18 




XLII. Port aux Basques, near 




Cape Ray, Newfoundland. 




Typical scenery of the 




southwestern coast 119 




Map I. Hunting territories of the 




Micmac Indians in Nova 




Scotia Back Cover 




II. Hunting territories of the 




Micmac Indians in Prince 




Edward island and New- 




foundland Back Cover 




Fig. 3. Hunting territory of Solomon Siah, 




Micmac of Bear river, Nova Scotia 99 




INDIAN NOTES 



I. STUDIES OF THE BEOTHUK 
AND MICMAC OF NEW- 
FOUNDLAND 

By Frank G. Speck 

INTRODUCTION 



11 



THE mystery connected with the dis- 
appearance of the unfortunate 
Beothuk or Red Indians of New- 
foundland has aroused a great deal 
of interest among historical investigators. 
The ethnologist, however, has to lament 
chiefly the fact that little or nothing of the 
language or customs of the tribe had been 
recorded before the opportunity had passed. 
Paucity of information on the language and 
the necessity of having to depend on several 
very poor vocabularies led Powell and 
Gatschet in 1885 to classify the Beothuk as 
an independent linguistic stock. Other 
writers who have dealt with the tribe have 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



12 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




been impressed by certain cultural affinities 
with both Eskimo and Montagnais. Conse- 
quently there is at present considerable un- 
certainty as to the ethnic position of the 
tribe. 

In the summer of 1914, during a trip to 
the eastern provinces of Canada for ethno- 
logical research, 1 1 made an extension of my 
journey, I might almost say a pilgrimage, to 
Red Indian lake and Exploits river, the 
country of the Beothuk, in the hope of resur- 
recting some traditional or material traces of 
their existence. As a consequence the result 
of my labor is presented in this brief 
paper, since in our study of the lost tribe 
we are forced to make stock of almost any 
fragments of information. We should be 
careful, I think, in a case of this kind, not 
to overestimate the peculiarity of the posi- 
tion of the tribe simply because it became 
extinct under rather tragic circumstances, 
or because so little is known of it. Some 
writers have been inclined to do this. We 
should rather try to identify the ethnic 
position of the Beothuk through the few 
known facts of their life, relying more upon 




INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




LOOKOUT TREE AT RED INDIAN POINT 
Close view, showing trimmed branches . 



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INTRODUCTION 


13 


positive than upon negative knowledge. 
The intangible nature of the few existing 
vocabularies confronts us with our main dif- 
ficulty; while a few customs, such as the 
extreme use of red ocher, the peculiar shape 
of the canoe, and the wigwam pits, features 
indeed not entirely unknown to outside 
tribes, tend collectively at least to lend to 
the Beothuk as an ethnic group a certain 
aspect of local distinctiveness. Let us 
glance at the circumstances. 

The general supposition that the Beothuk 
may be a divergent early branch of the east- 
ern Algonkian is indeed borne out by some 
fairly trustworthy historical, linguistic, and 
ethnological conclusions. The archeological 
question is, moreover, correlated with that 
of the northern New England coast and the 
maritime provinces. From the reports of 
Willoughby 2 and Moorehead 3 there is evi- 
dence of a pre-Algonkian culture in Maine. 
It has also been represented that this cul- 
ture, owing to certain traits, such as the 
abundant use of red ocher in burials, the 
absence of many types of stone implements, 
and the frequent occurrence of long slate 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





14 


BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 


• 


lance-heads and of chisels, 4 may have been 
culture of a type related to that of the 
Beothuk. While the principle of identify- 
ing one type of culture with another on the 
basis of a few resemblances is, of course, 
non-commendable, nevertheless the fact 
that we possess no strikingly conflicting 
material from either of these little-known 
ancient areas gives some extra weight to 
the few resemblances that may be men- 
tioned. At present evidence seems to be 
accumulating in favor of the idea that a 
type of culture older and cruder than that 
of the historic Algonkian prevailed in the 
eastern maritime provinces and in northern 
New England. So by coordinating the 
remainders it might seem that the Beothuk 
were the last isolated outposts of this culture 
in the matter of both time and space. 
Then, if we accept the evidence of Beothuk 
resemblances to Algonkian as indicating a 
genetic relationship, we should have to as- 
sume that the early culture type belonged 
to a primitive Algonkian group antedating 
the later Algonkian occupants. Certain 
uniformities, one of which is simplicity of 




INDIAN NOTES 



INTRODUCTION 



15 



type in archeological material throughout 
the whole area, seem to lead to some such 
idea. Since a further fundamental simplic- 
ity in social, ceremonial, and economic life is 
a fairly uniform characteristic of the north- 
eastern Algonkian in general, I am inclined 
to believe that the historic tribes of the 
northeast are the surviving representatives 
of the early unaffected Algonkian types of 
which the isolated Beothuk of Newfound- 
land were the last true representatives. 
Unfortunately Mr Howley, in his recent 
monograph on the Beothuk, 5 does not seem 
to define clearly the reasons for his own 
stand on the question of ethnic affinity, not- 
withstanding the fact that he is at present 
perhaps more intimately conversant with 
the internal probabilities of the case than 
anyone else. 6 

The fame of the Beothuk seems to have 
reached regions quite distant from New- 
foundland in Indian times. As far west as 
the Penobscot of Maine, a tribe of "Red 
Indians," who are said to have dyed their 
skins red, is known by tradition as 
Osagdne'wi'ak. 1 Some informants apply 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



16 


BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 




this name to -the Montagnais of southern 
Labrador, while others employ it to desig- 
nate a people farther to the east, which 
makes it possible that they refer to a people 
in Newfoundland. 

Again, the Malecite of New Brunswick 
employ the cognate term Us'a'gdn'ik to de- 
note the Montagnais and the other tribes to 
the north and east. This term is evidently 
derived directly from the Micmac term 
Osa'yanax, which likewise denotes the tribes 
north of the St Lawrence as well as the tribe 
of Newfoundland. I have found inform- 
ants to vary on this term, some applying it 
to the Montagnais exclusively and others 
to the Red Indians of Newfoundland when 
they knew something of the latter. We 
may remark, however, that a certain stand- 
ard usage among the Micmac, Malecite, and 
Penobscot applies this term to a people who 
may be putatively identified with the Beo- 
thuk. In addition, this is the name of the 
Beothuk as given by a supposed descendant 
of the tribe, born in Newfoundland, whose 
testimony will be discussed later. 8 

More definite knowledge of the Beothuk, 




INDIAN NOTES 



INTRODUCTION 


17 


or at least those whom we may presume to 
be the same, is shared by the Malecite. Un- 
der the name of Mekwe'isit, "red man," 
there are several myths and a description 
of "a tribe of Indians who were red. Each 
of these red men was known by the name of 
Mekwe'isit. Whenever any of the other 
Indians came near, these natives would run 
away. . . . Their dress was unlike 
that of other tribes. They wore a loin cloth 
and leggings and moccasins of a peculiar 
cut. They did not wear any covering for 
the rest of the body, but instead they 
painted it a deep red." 9 Mechling, in 
commenting on these stories, says: "The 
explanation of the Red People suggests 
at once the Beothuks. There is little 
doubt that they were known to the Malecites 
by hearsay at least. The statements in re- 
gard to their dress and painting seem to 
have some basis in fact." 10 Howley also 
gives information from the Malecite ob- 
tained through Mr E. Jack, pertaining to 
the Beothuk. 11 

Nearer to the scene, the Micmac in gen- 
eral are better acquainted with the former 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





18 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




Red Indians of Newfoundland, who natu- 
rally have a prominent place in their local 
legends. Their name for the Beothuk is 
Meywe'dji'djik, 12 "red people" (diminu- 
tive) , and, as I have said before, the tribal 
term Osa'yan'ax is applied by some both to 
the Montagnais and to the Beothuk by the 
present-day Newfoundland Indians. 

Among the Montagnais, on the other 
hand, I have had very poor success in ob- 
taining references to the Beothuk. As far 
down the St Lawrence as the Moisie river 
the Montagnais seem ignorant of the New- 
foundland tribe's existence. Farther east, 
nearer the Straits of Belle Isle, perhaps the 
few Montagnais there would know some- 
thing of them, but I have not as yet visited 
them to determine the point. 

The expectation.that the present Micmac 
inhabitants of Newfoundland might have a 
more extended knowledge of the supposedly 
extinct tribe, an expectation most natural 
to the ethnologist, led me to undertake the 
investigation of material culture while in 
Newfoundland, the results of which form 
the basis of this paper. The ethnological 




INDIAN NOTES 







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BEOTHUK SITES 


19 


collection figured in my study is now in the 
Victoria Museum, Ottawa, and the manu- 
script was prepared originally for the An- 
thropological Survey of Canada. Thanks 
are due to the Director and to Dr. Edward 
Sapir for the photographs of the collection 
and for permission to use the material. 

SITES OF BEOTHUK OCCUPANCY 

In the neighborhood of Red Indian lake 
and the River of Exploits the signs of Beo- 
thuk occupancy are both numerous and well 
preserved. Several authors 13 have written 
of the caribou "fences" which were con- 
structed to force the caribou to cross a river 
or a lake at certain places accessible to the 
natives, where they could be shot and 
speared. 14 Recent forest fires have oblit- 
erated these so-called "fences," but in a 
few places near the shore, where, on account 
of the moisture, the fires have not burned 
to the water's edge, some few miles below 
the new dam on Exploits river at its junction 
with Red Indian lake, are to be seen the 
trunks of trees felled to form a line barrier 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





20 



BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 



leading obliquely from the water's edge to 
the wooded bank. This rough abattis, as 
it were, is said to have extended for some 
miles along the river before the era of fires 
which wrought so much havoc with the 
forests of the interior. So well known are 
the sites of these fences in the Exploits 
River region that any Micmac guide at 
Badger's Brook can lead to the places where 
remains may still be seen. At one spot in 
particular, a mile above Red Indian falls on 
Exploits river, a " fence" running to the 
water's edge is discernible. It is formed of 
cross-pieces as high as one's head, with hori- 
zontal tree-trunks felled to fall into the 
crotches here and there. The continuation 
of this "fence" has been burnt away upon 
the upland, but it is still partly intact along 
shore. 

During the short time at my disposal, I 
was able to find without difficulty several 
interesting camp-sites where even the form 
of the wigwam-sites was preserved and some 
of the litter of the hunter's camp lay round 
about near the surface. One of the note- 
worthy features of the Red Indian sites is 



INDIAN NOTES 



BEOTHUK SITES 


21 


the excavation of the ground where the 
wigwams stood. Either circular or some- 
what quadrilateral in form, these pits now 
generally appear excavated about a foot. 
They were undoubtedly deeper when made. 
In the center of the wigwam-holes is the 
location of the fireplace, as indicated by the 
charred soil and fire-cracked stones. Dig- 
ging over the. soil around the fireplaces one 
uncovers remains of implements. Chert 
and flint chips occur, showing stone-age 
industry. Interspersed with them were 
found metal fragments — pieces of metal 
bands, old wrought nails, small nondescript 
iron scraps, and, in one place, a perfect iron 
awl blade. Quantities of animal bones and 
pieces of caribou antler also occur, indicating 
the food habits of the natives. Referring to 
the material, we find a tradition among 
the Micmac-Montagnais of the island which 
relates how the Red Indians used to make 
forays on fishermen's settlements and even 
robbed schooners to obtain metal for tool 
making. 15 The Micmac say that they fre- 
quently dig in these Red Indian wigwam- 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





22 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




pits and find curious iron implements — 
knives, axes, traps, and the like. 

At Red Indian point, several miles south 
of Millertown at the point of land near 
where Mary March brook flows into the 
lake, is a notable site, said by the Micmac- 
Montagnais to have been the headquarters 
of the Red Indians a hundred years or so 
ago. Directly at the point here are a num- 
ber of wigwam-pits, at least seven, although 
it was rather hard to discern them all at 
the time of my visit on account of the logs 
that had drifted in and filled the pits at 
high water. One of these, rectangular in 
shape and about 30 feet in its greater 
diameter, is said to have been the location 
of the wigwam of a chief. The other pits 
are at several yards' distance, grouped 
around this one. They have an average 
depth of about 2 feet, and their large size 
indicates the place formerly to have been a 
large and probably more or less regular set- 
tlement. In and around these pits I gath- 
ered a quantity of cracked bones and pieces 
of antler. Much material undoubtedly 
could be obtained here by excavation. The 




INDIAN NOTES 




H 

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BEOTHUK SITES 


23 


most interesting feature of this site, how- 
ever, is a large white spruce tree which 
stands intact at the extremity of the point. 
This tree has its smaller branches trimmed 
out, and the lower branches are lopped off 
a foot or so from the trunk to form a means 
of ascent to its airy heights. The trimming 
extends, I should say, at least 30 or 40 feet 
from the ground, and enables an observer 
to mount conveniently the full distance. 
This tree was a lookout post. When the 
camp was occupied a lookout was stationed 
in it to watch for caribou swimming across 
the lake, or, we might well imagine, for the 
approach of enemies. This remarkable tree 
is still in perfect condition and forms a 
landmark that seems to have appealed to 
the sentiment of the lumbermen, so it will 
probably remain. Photographs of this 
site, and several views of the lookout tree, 
one taken from its height where I climbed to 
experience the sensation of observing these 
wastes from the vantage point of the an- 
cients, are shown in pi. i-v. One fact 
further should be noted, that in the last 
century the point was occupied by Micmac 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





24 


BE-OTHUK AND MICMAC 




who availed themselves from time to time 
of its ideal situation. John Paul said that 
he knew of several old people who were 
born while their families were encamped 
there. Among them he mentioned it as his 
understanding that Santu, the woman whose 
claim of Beothuk descent is to be considered 
later, was also born there. 

At many points on Exploits river, the 
wigwam-pits are numerous. Near the junc- 
tion of Badger's brook and Exploits river, 
the only other place where I had an oppor- 
tunity to examine the shores, about a dozen 
wigwam-pits may still be seen ranging along 
the northern bank on the terrace above 
the beach. On some of these pits, fair- 
sized spruce trees have grown up. The pits 
are situated at a distance ranging from about 
100 feet to 100 yards from each other (pi. 
vi). In some of these, where I excavated 
the fireplace and floor space, fragments of 
iron tools, stone chips and flakes, and stone 
hammers or bone-crackers, and a perfect 
bone implement for removing the hair from 
caribou skins, were found. The latter, a 
caribou leg-bone, is of the same type as is 




INDIAN NOTES 



MI CM AC KNOWLEDGE 


25 


commonly found among the Montagnais, 
Micmac, and other eastern tribes. (See pi. 
xxv, a, b). So much for the archeological 
remains of which I am able to speak from 
personal observation. The Micmac of the 
region, however, speak of many of these old 
camp-sites. Some systematic excavation in 
the region would prove very profitable. 

THE MICMAC AND THE RED INDIANS 

Our most important extant sources of in- 
formation about the Beothuk are undoubt- 
edly the Micmac-Montagnais who still in- 
habit the southern and western coasts of 
Newfoundland and parts of the interior. 
The present Indian inhabitants, whose lan- 
guage is Micmac, are the mixed offspring 
of Montagnais hunters from Labrador and 
Micmac from Cape Breton island. Immi- 
gration from both these neighboring regions 
must have commenced at least several 
centuries ago, because our records from the 
early part of the nineteenth century show 
both the Micmac and the Montagnais to 
have been firmly established in Newfound- 
land at that time. As the historical facts 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





26 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




concerned with these migrations are quite 
interesting, a brief account of them will be 
given to introduce the people we are to dis- 
cuss as the successors, I believe in more 
than one sense, of the Beothuk. 16 

The Micmac claim to have had some 
knowledge of Newfoundland from remote 
times. They speak of a branch of their 
people called Sa"ydwe'djki'k, "ancients," 
who lived on the southern and western coasts 
before the eighteenth century, and to cor- 
roborate this they give an old nomenclature 
of landmarks in various parts of the island 
in Micmac. Communication with New- 
foundland in early times was carried on by 
means of canoes. The distance, about 93 
miles, between Cape North (of Cape Bre- 
ton) and Cape Ray was covered in two 
stages, the first stop having been St Paul's 
island, 14 miles from Cape North. The 
traverse thence was made at night generally, 
when it was calmer, guided by a beacon fire 
kindled on the high barrens of Cape Ray by 
a crew of experienced men who went on 
rapidly ahead of the main body. In later 
times the Micmac added to the facility of 




INDIAN NOTES 



MICMAC KNOWLEDGE 



27 



communication by using schooners. Their 
first settlements were about St George's 
bay, at Burgeo on the south coast, and at 
Conne river. 

In the St George's Bay region it is a matter 
of general knowledge, among the older mem- 
bers of the Newfoundland band, that their 
ancestors lived in amicable contact with the 
Beothuk, whom they designate Meywe'djik, 
"red people." This period of friendly rela- 
tionship interests us now because during 
that time we may surmise some culture bor- 
rowing and blood intermixture to have taken 
place. 

The following legend narrated by John 
Paul accounts for the rupture between the 
two tribes. 

How the Micmac and the Red Indians 

Became Separated 

(Narrated by John Paul at Badger's Brook) 

"Long ago the Micmac and the Red Indians 
were friendly and lived together in a village at 
St George's bay, which is now supposed to have 
been near Seal rocks [near Stevensville]. The 
place was called Meski'gtuwi' , dm, 'big gut,' or 
it might have been Nudjo'yan, inside Sandy 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



28 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



point in the bay. The St George's river was 
at that time called Main river by the English. 
Everything went well between the two tribes. 
They used to have a large canoe at the village in 
which the people could cross over the bay. One 
time during the winter a Micmac boy killed a 
black weasel. As it was winter-time the 
weasel should, of course, have been white. The 
occurrence was taken as an omen of misfortune,, 17 
because the boy should not have killed a black 
weasel in winter-time, the animal not being in 
its proper hue. On account of the violation of 
the taboo a quarrel arose between the boys who 
were at the time gathered near the big canoe 
already mentioned. The Micmac boy struck 
and killed a Red Indian boy and left him there. 
Soon the Red Indian boy was missed by his 
people, and after searching for several days 
they found his body lying near the big canoe. 
When they examined the wounds the Red 
Indians concluded that the boy had been mur- 
dered. They accused the Micmac of doing the 
deed, and in a few days feeling became so 
intense that a fight ensued in which the Red 
Indians were beaten and driven out. They 
retreated into the interior and, being separated 
from contact with the outside world, drifted into 
barbarism and became wilder. They always 
shunned the Micmac, who soon after obtained 
firearms and, although they never persecuted 
the Red Indians, were thenceforth objects of 
terror to them. In a few generations those of 
the two tribes who were able to converse to- 
gether died out and there was no way left for 
them to come together. So living in fear of 



INDIAN NOTES 



MIC MAC KNOWLEDGE 


29 


each other, yet avoiding clashes, the Micmac 
continued to live at Bay St George and the 
Red Indians kept to the interior." 

We can hardly give serious historical con- 
sideration to the details of this story. It 
bears the marks of being a secondary expla- 
nation of some historical event, especially 
since the same general theme among the 
Micmac, and even among other Wabanaki 
tribes of the mainland, accounts for the hos- 
tility of the Iroquois. 18 The motive of the 
legend, nevertheless, is clear enough, for it 
indicates that the Micmac and the Red Indi- 
ans were undoubtedly on friendly terms 
originally and that they intermingled. 19 

Accepting this assumption as being trust- 
worthy, let us consider other claims, as 
well as some features of material culture. 
Such a study of the ethnology of the New- 
foundland Indians (whom I have chosen to 
call Micmac-Montagnais on account of their 
mixed descent) , as I was able to make it in 
the early summer of 1914, showed some few 
articles of use characteristic neither of the 
Micmac of the mainland nor of the Montag- 
nais. By eliminating what we can safely 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





30 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




attribute to either of the above sources, the 
residual material may possibly deserve to be 
classed as the result of borrowing through 
contact with the Beothuk. If one is in- 
clined to object strenuously to such a claim, 
let us recall the fact that many of the Mic- 
mac families among the present-day natives 
of Newfoundland are of Montagnais de- 
scent. If one attempts to deny categorically 
that culture survivals from the Beothuk are 
not to be traced through the Micmac, on 
account of former hostility, then it cannot 
be denied on the same ground that influence 
could have come down through the Mon- 
tagnais strain in the present population, 
whose ancestors were known to be friendly 
with the Beothuk. 

COMPARATIVE ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES 

One of the distinctive features of economic 
life listed for the Beothuk is a marked pe- 
culiarity in the construction of the birch -bark 
wigwam. The excavation of a pit a foot or 
so below the level of the ground seems to 
have been a general feature of the Beothuk 
wigwam. This contrasts with the Micmac 




INDIAN NOTES 



I 



£g*«mt^ 





4 ■ 



HABITATION 


31 


and Montagnais wigwam, because these 
tribes generally erect the wigwam upon flat 
ground. On the Penobscot river in Maine, 
nevertheless, such wigwam-pits, both rec- 
tangular and circular in outline, may be 
seen on Indian island. In other respects, 
however, the wigwams of the Beothuk and 
the eastern Algonkian seem to correspond 
even in such details as the hoop encircling 
the inside of the framework of poles. 20 The 
hoop varies somewhat in size according to 
the height at which it is placed. Generally 
it is lashed to the wigwam poles about six 
feet from the ground and lends much to the 
support of the poles when the wigwam is 
burdened with snow. Sticks are placed on 
the hoop, upon which clothing and moc- 
casins may be hung to be dried. Even the 
cooking utensils are suspended over the fire 
from the cross-sticks. All is shown in pi. xl. 
The hoop as a structural feature, is used, 
we know, westward as far as the Montagnais 
and the Penobscot of Maine; 21 but it is 
absent from the wigwam and tipi con- 
struction of the Great Lakes area and the 
plains. Even the rectangular based winter 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





32 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




wigwams of the Beothuk, built of logs chink- 
ed with moss and with a pyramidal bark 
superstructure, find their parallel among 
the tribes of the Wabanaki group. An ex- 
ample of the present-day Newfoundland In- 
dian log camp is shown in pi. vii-viii. An 
anonymous author in the London Times 
(1820) mentions the upright posts in con- 
struction (cf. Howley, p. 100). This camp 
is built partly on the same principle — a clear 
survival. So after all, in the rather fun- 
damental matter of architecture the Beo- 
thuk do not exhibit a great divergence from 
the surrounding Algonkian. 

In canoe-building we find another impor- 
tant subject for comparative mention. The 
bark canoe of the Beothuk type has 
been described by several authors. 22 The 
pointed keel and the elevated middle section 
of the gunwales are the two distinguishing 
features of the craft. The pointed keel is 
unique among eastern canoe types, but the 
same cannot be said of the elevated gunwale 
middle, for a modified form of the same 
thing, with the same separating thwart, is 
prominent not only in the Micmac canoes 




INDIAN NOTES 




■z. 

i 

.O 
l-< 
coco 

<Q. 

o: 



x u • 
< >> 

COlxl 



§1 



CANOES 



33 



of Newfoundland (pi. ix, b), which might 
be expected to show the feature, but through- 
out the Micmac range as far as southern 
Nova Scotia, according to my own observa- 
tion (pi. ix). Farther west than the Mic- 
mac, however, this feature does not extend 
nor do the Montagnais produce it. Ordi- 
narily, however, the present-day Micmac- 
Montagnais of Newfoundland make and use 
the moose-skin canoe (mu'sdwulk) "moose 
boat") in preference to the bark one. They 
claim that it is more convenient on the port- 
ages and more quickly made. From two to 
four skins are used in its construction, which 
is quite simple. A model is shown in pi. 
x, a. In this trait the Newfoundland In- 
dians agree with the other tribes of the Wa- 
banaki group, as well as with the Mon- 
tagnais, who all have recourse at times to 
moose-hide craft. We do not hear of the 
hide canoe among the Beothuk from any of 
the old accounts with the exception of one, 
Cormack's, 23 although of course the fun- 
damental idea is Eskimo as well as Al- 
gonkian. 

In the matter of dress, some articles are 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



34 



BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 



characteristic of the Newfoundland Indians 
of today which are common to both Mon- 
tagnais and Micmac, while others are sug- 
gestive of Red Indian culture. The caribou- 
skin capote (qali'bua'zi, "caribou cover- 
ing") with hood attached (pi. xi-xiv) , and 
the sealskin coats (pi. xv) of the same 
type, are of course in the former class. Al- 
though I was able to procure only a plain 
specimen" of the caribou-skin coat, I learned 
from John Paul (see p. 78, note 45) of 
decorations which formerly were more com- 
mon. Tanned with the hair off, these 
coats had figures of animals painted on the 
back, and a band of checkerwork in red 
and black around the waist. This compares 
more with what we know of Montagnais 
decoration, although the same type of coat 
had a wide distribution throughout the 
W'abanaki area. Of the pigments, red and 
brown were from alder bark, yellow from 
''yellow thread" (golden thread, Coptis tri- 
folia), 2A and blue and black from blueber- 
ries. When the hair was left on these coats 
they were seldom painted, except as in the 
case of the one figured, which has red ocher 



INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




DAUGHTER OF JOHN PAUL. M I C M AC- MO NTAGN Al S OF 

BADGER'S BROOK. IN CARIBOU-SKIN COAT AND 

WITH "RED INDIAN" DOLL 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




DAUGHTER OF JOHN PAUL. M I C M AC- MONTAGN AIS OF 
BADGER'S BROOK, IN CARIBOU-SKIN COAT 



DRESS 


35 


smeared over the seams on the inside. 
Children's coats were made from the skin 
of a caribou calf, with the eye-holes and 
ears left in place on the head, which fitted 
over the head of the child to form the hood. 
This is distinctly like the coats worn by 
children of the Montagnais of Labrador. 
Trousers of tanned caribou-skin reaching 
almost to the knee, as an article of clothing 
correspond also to the early dress of the 
Montagnais. 

The women wore peaked caps {kdiii''- 
skwetc, "pointed top"), descriptions of which 
serve to show that they were more like those 
of the other Micmac, though of course a 
similar article is worn by nearly every Mon- 
tagnais woman. The women also wrapped 
their hair over two small wooden blocks over 
the ears, also after the fashion of the Mon- 
tagnais. Neither of these fashions, how- 
ever, is to be seen nowadays (pi. xvi-xvii). 

When we come to consider boots and 
moccasins (mki'zi'n), we encounter articles 
which evidently suggest Beothuk influence. 
The low moccasin of caribou-skin has the 
forepart finely puckered like that of the 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





36 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




Montagnais (pi. xvm, a, b). More char- 
acteristic of these Indians, however, is the 
boot-moccasin {mu'ksan)~'° the pattern of 
which is the same as that of Eskimo boots 
and those of the Montagnais of the coast. 
With feet made of sealskin and the upper 
parts of either seal- or caribou-skin, heavily 
greased, the article is suggestively Eskimo- 
like. Frequently the top of the boot is rein- 
forced with a strip of caribou-skin with 
the fur on (pi. xvm, c-e). The distinctive 
feature of both the moccasin and the boots, 
however, is the red stain which they receive 
at the hands of their makers before being 
considered complete. Discussion of this 
peculiarity with the Indians themselves 
brought to light the fact that they attribute 
the custom of dyeing these articles red to 
former contact with the Red Indians. 
Since the feature seems to be restricted to 
those people, I see little reason to doubt the 
likelihood of the connection. Practically 
every pair of moccasins I observed worn by 
them was dyed red, whether made of 
caribou-skin or of seal-skin. To obtain the 
red color they soak the hide in water im- 




INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




DAUGHTER OF JOHN PAUL. M ICM AC- MONTAGN Al S OF 
BADGER'S BROOK. IN CARIBOU-SKIN COAT 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




MAN'S COAT OF CARIBOU-SKIN WITH THE HAIR ON AND 

WITH BUTTONS OF CARIBOU-ANTLER: USED IN WINTER 

BY THE BADGER'S BROOK BAND OF MICMAC 



WEAVING 


37 


pregnated with spruce, pine, or alder bark, 
during the process of tanning 26 

For a people with rather crude industries, 
it seems unusual to find them practising 
weaving. Upon a loom (eldaxte 'gaii , ' ' weav- 
ing instrument" 27 ) made of wood with from 
20 to 30 holes in the bars between the ver- 
tical apertures (pi. xix), the women weave 
pack-straps (wi'sx9' f btixsan% "carrying 
strap") , shown in pi. xx, a, b; xxi (compare, in 
the Cape Breton dialect of Micmac, ht 
xada'u) belts and garters. 28 The material 
employed in weaving, before sheep wool came 
into use, was caribou wool. To obtain the 
wool it was combed from the hide, three- 
fourths of a pound usually coming from one 
skin. Bear, beaver, otter, and hare skins, 
they say, also furnished wool of an inferior 
sort. When combed and stretched the wool 
was spun on a wooden spindle (mi'mati- 
da'yan', " spinning instrument" 29 ) , which was 
twirled with the fingers (pi. xx, c), the point 
resting on a board. When the woolen strands 
are ready to be woven, they are passed 
alternately through the holes and slits of 
the loom. One end of the group of gathered 


♦ 


AND MONOGRAPHS 





38 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



strands is tied to a post, or something 
equally convenient in the house, and the 
other end attached to the belt of the woman 
who is to do the weaving. Thus the loom 
is near the body of the weaver. By lean- 
ing backward then the weaver can make 
the cords as tight as she desires. Without 
shuttle or bar the weaver then passes the 
ball of yarn with one hand between the 
alternate strands, separated -vertically when 
the loom is raised with the other hand, 
and then back again when the loom is lowered. 
This produces an over-one under-one mesh, 
and the pattern is determined by the colors 
of the strands. PL xix shows the loom with 
an unfinished belt upon it. The art of weav- 
ing, the highest artistic accomplishment of 
the Newfoundland band, seems more closely 
related to the Micmac; nothing like it occurs 
among the Montagnais. Several informants 
claimed, however, that they had heard of 
its derivation from the Red Indians. I 
hardly think, though, that such a claim 
should be seriously considered. 

Another rather fine art is the weaving of 
very fine cords of rabbit wool in varied 



INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK BEOTHUK AND.MICMAC 





MICMAC-MONTAGNAIS WOMAN AT BADGER'S BROOK IN 
SEALSKIN CAPOTE WITH SNOWSHOES OF LOCAL TYPE 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




FRANK JOE AND WIFE. M I C M AC- M ONTAGN Al S OF ST 
GEORGE'S BAY SETTLEMENT. WEST COAST OF 
NEWFOUNDLAND 



SNOW SHOES 



39 



colors to be sewed on the edge of caps, cloth- 
ing, and the like, sometimes made into 
designs as a substitute for beadwork and 
painting. This art is comparable with the 
former work of the Montagnais in wool 
embroidery, and in later days in silk. I 
have described this technique in another 
paper. 30 

The scarcity of skin and- cloth bags among 
the Newfoundland Indians contrasts with 
their abundance among the Montagnais 
and even the Micmac of the mainland. 
Only a few bags or pouches (malsewi' '' 31 ) 
were obtained (pi. xxu), one of caribou- 
skin, dyed red, and another of muskrat- 
skin. 

Snowshoes (a'ygmk*), shown in pi. xxm, 
are not so finely made as are those of 
the Montagnais. They resemble more the 
snowshoes of the Micmac of the mainland. 32 
Crooked knives (waya'yan); awls with 
wooden handles (sisi'gan); hide-scrapers 
and hair-removers (saywi'gan); snowshoe 
needles {tatwi' ' gan) of caribou antler or 
bone; netting needles (sa'yadik') of wood 
(all shown in pi. xxiv-xxvn), are all of a 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



40 



BEOTHUK ANDMICMAC 



type common to both the Montagnais and 
the Micmac. 33 There is no reason why many 
of them should not have been the same among 
the Beothuk, since one hair-remover at 
least of the common sort was found, as I 
have previously mentioned, in a Beothuk 
wigwam pit at Badger's Brook (pi. vi). 
There is, however, nothing distinctive in any 
way about implements of the class described, 




Fig. 1. — Leaf of Sarracena purpurea (pitcher plant) used 
as an improvised pipe by Newfoundland Indians. 

for the types are present among all the 
tribes of the northeastern culture group. 

Harpoon-heads of antler are represented 
in the collection by several types, one for 
spearing beaver (sumuskwa'ndi') shown in 
pi. xxviii, e; others for seals and caribou 
(a, c) . The antler toggle (d) is called pska'o. M 
These lances and harpoons, and the fish- 
spear (ni'yo'yjl; pi. xxvm,6), are also of 
the type common among the Eskimo, Mon- 



INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




WIFE OF FRANK JOE WEARING CHARACTERISTIC HEAD- 
COVERING 






SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




'aJ * 



%:■ 




BOOTS AND MOCCASINS OF THE BADGER'S BROOK BAND 
OF MICMAC 
a, Child's red tanned sealskin moccasin, b, Man's red tanned caribou- 
skin moccasin, c, Boot of sealskin with caribou-fur trimming, d, Boot 
with upper of tanned sealskin and feet of caribou-skin (length, 14 in.). 
e, Red tanned caribou-skin top boot moccasins 



BASKETS 



41 



tagnais, and Micmac; in fact, throughout the 
North. 

Smoking-pipes are improvised from the 
leaf of the pitcher-plant (Sarracena pur- 
purea), shown in fig. 1. The green tubular 
leaf body endures for a period long enough 
for the user to enjoy one filling of it, either 
with tobacco or with dried red-willow bark. 
The natives also use an improvised pipe 
made of a roll of birch-bark. Howley (p. 
339) mentions the same smoking materials 
and adds that they were probably used 
also by the Beothuk. 

Maple splint baskets (pudali'e'wi,^ pi. 
xxrx) are the comparatively recent prod- 
ucts of an art brought from the Micmac 
of the mainland, for nothing of the kind is 
found among the Montagnais, nor in fact 
was it found in earlier times among any of 
the other Wabanaki. 36 On the other hand, 
the decorated birch-bark baskets so charac- 
teristic of the Montagnais are not common 
in Newfoundland either, and we find only a 
few of the beautiful quill worked bark boxes 
of the Micmac type. Since porcupines are 
not native to Newfoundland, the few old 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



42 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




women who, a genera- 
tion ago, preserved the 
national art of quill- 
work on bark (pi. xxx) 
had to import their 
quills from Nova Scotia. 
Bark boxes are a'luwa- 
bax, "oval shaped;" and 
awi'yo'yalayan, "round 
bark box." They were 
formerly common ob- 
jects. 37 

From several hunters 
I obtained perforated 
stones (kwunde'u, 
"stone;" pi. xxxi, b, 
c) which they cherished 
as luck charms to aid 
them in hunting. Nei- 
ther among the Montag- 
nais nor the Micmac, so 
far, have I encountered 
the same fetishes, al- 
though I had obtained 
them previously from 
the Penobscot of Maine. 



INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




LOOM OF THE BADGER'S BROOK BAND OF MICMAC FOR 

WEAVING PACK-STRAPS. BELTS. ETC. 

Unfinished belt in loom to show method of weaving 



BEOTHUK CANOES 


43 


Should these be also considered as Beothuk 
borrowings, they are at least of an Algon- 
kian nature. A luck charm consisting of 
seven lynx teeth attached to a cord was 
obtained from a hunter of the Badger's 
Brook band. Among all the northern tribes 
similar fetish objects are in fashion. Ani- 
mals' teeth perforated for suspension have 
also been found in Beothuk graves. 38 

To conclude this brief account of New- 
foundland material culture I might add a few 
notes on Beothuk ethnology, giving some 
of the ideas possessed by the present Micmac 
of the island (see pi. xxxii). "The 
Red Indian canoes were made of bark, 
shaped like a 'bean' and pointed at the bot- 
tom. They were very ticklish, but the 
Red Indians could manage them perfectly. 
They wore caribou-skin clothes with the 
fur turned inside or tanned, and lined with 
otter, beaver, or other kinds of fur. They 
were not so much characterized by having 
their clothing dyed red as their skin. They 
wore hooded coats, frequently decorated 
with painting, pants and boots." 39 

A small collection of ethnological objects, 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





44 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




which my own collection duplicates, ob- 
tained from the present-day Indians of the 
island, is in the Museum of the Geological 
Survey of Newfoundland, having been col- 
lected years ago by Mr Howley. They are 
of the same type as those just described. A 
more important collection of stone imple- 
ments from many parts of the coast and 
from the Exploits region is also to be seen 
there. Some of the bone and antler imple- 
ments and the birch-bark receptacles are of 
the same type as those which I have just 
discussed as being common among the Al- 
gonkian of the East in general. One can- 
not escape the impression again that the 
Beothuk articles in this collection are of a 
distinctly Algonkian character. 

Gatschet's idea 40 that the Beothuk dif- 
fered from most other Indians in being of a 
lighter color, in having the excavations in 
their lodges for sleeping-berths, in the form 
of their canoes, in the non-domestication 
of the dog, 41 and the absence of pottery, of 
course, is not of great importance, because 
most of these remarks would apply to the 
ethnology of some of the neighboring tribes. 




INDIAN NOTES 



^ Y * ° f 



r 






^ 
# 



f> 




o 

o 



^7 <; s 

•* ft it ' 



^ 



Fold-out 
Placeholder 




a -fr 



Fold-out 
Placeholder 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




a 




TOBACCO-POUCHES OF THE BADGER'S BROOK BAND OF 

MICMAC 

a. Of red tanned caribou-skin, with string of spun caribou wool; width, 

4i in. b, Of muskrat-skin 



BEOTHUK ETHNOLOGY 


45 


Moreover, the isolated fact that the Beo- 
thuk used the inner bark of Pinus balsami- 
fera for food 42 is, like many other customs, 
not an exclusive one, because the Mon- 
tagnais do the same with the inner rind 
of canoe birch when pressed by famine. 

The accompanying tabulated ethnologi- 
cal summary has been prepared for the con- 
venience of the reader. It reveals, on the 
basis of what is known of Beothuk ethnol- 
ogy, the degree of resemblance of the Beo- 
thuk to the Micmac-Montagnais of New- 
foundland, and that of these two peoples 
individually to the Montagnais north of the 
St Lawrence and to the Micmac and the 
Wabanaki tribes south of that stream. A 
tabulation of this nature is of course valu- 
able only to a limited extent, because we 
cannot rely on the significance of anything 
negative owing to the incompleteness of 
our knowledge of the Beothuk. As for the 
other tribes in the columns, since the list is 
not intended to focus their characteristics as 
a body apart from those of the Beothuk, the 
significance of the comparison is even less, 
for its scope is restricted to the Beothuk 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





46 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




correspondences. The blank spaces in the 
columns denote that the particular feature 
is lacking, so far as the data show. The 
references in the Beothuk column are to 
Howley's monograph; the statements refer- 
ring to the other tribes are based mostly on 
my own field observations. The other au- 
thorities, where mentioned, are: Nicholas 
Denys, The Description and Natural His- 
tory of the Coasts of North America . . . 
Paris, 1672, reprinted in Publications of the 
Champlain Society, Toronto, 1908, by W. 
F. Ganong; and Father Chrestien Le Clercq, 
New Relation of Gaspesia . . . Paris, 1691, 
reprinted in Publications of the Champlain 
Society, Toronto, 1910, by W. F. Ganong. 

FOLKLORE NOTES FROM THE NEWFOUND- 
LAND BAND 

In the ancient Micmac nomenclature of 
Newfoundland are a few names connected 
with Beothuk history. Red Indian lake 
is Meywe'djewa'gi', "Red Indian lake." 
The various Red Indian camp-sites, the old 
deer fences, and especially the large camp- 




INDIAN NOTES 



FOLKLORE 


47 


site at Red Indian point (pi. xxxni), 
are familiar to all the present-day Indians. 
The melancholy history of their former con- 
geners and speculations as to their ultimate 
fate are subjects that appeal strongly to the 
Micmac. In general the idea that the Mic- 
mac-Montagnais aided in the remorseless 
activities against the Beothuk arouses 
somewhat indignant denial among them. 
Despite the fact that historical notices, most 
of which I find have been disseminated from 
only one or two sources, mention the Mic- 
mac among the persecutors of the Red Indi- 
ans, it must be confessed that I myself am 
rather skeptical on the point. The Micmac 
sincerely profess pity for the unfortunate 
tribe, and commiserate their hard life in the 
interior, terrified as they fancy by the en- 
croachments of people with firearms, and 
driven away from the benefit of intercourse 
with those who could have furnished them 
with modern utensils and religion. The 
Indians of Newfoundland today regard the 
Red Indians as a people who were doomed 
to their fate through 'an unconquerable fear 
of their fellow-men, Micmac as well as Euro- 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





48 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



pean. In a way it might throw light upon 
the situation to refer to the fact that the 
Montagnais of Labrador, I find, regard their 
neighbors, the Naskapi of the interior, in 
the same light. It is common to hear Mon- 
tagnais hunters from the coast relate how, 
when they chanced upon a remote camp of 
Naskapi in their wanderings, the latter fled 
in fear before those who were clothed in 
white men's garments. 

Returning to the subject of local nomen- 
clature, there is another place known to the 
English as Hodge's mountain, some dis 
tance northeast of the village of Badger's 
Brook. This is called Meyive'za'xsit, "red- 
faced person." It is claimed that a Mic- 
mac hunter many years ago discovered a 
Red Indian camp on its slopes. Every- 
thing was intact in a lone wigwam discov- 
ered there, which was lined with caribou- 
skins (incidentally another Algonkian re- 
semblance). Here, Louis John claims, is 
where the last Red Indians are thought to 
have starved to death during a severe win- 
ter storm. 

Some historical accounts from Indian 



INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




SNOWSHOES OF THE BADGER'S BROOK BAND OF MICMAC 
Both are filled with caribou-hide thongs; b is 36 in. long 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 







PICK. AWLS AND KNIVES OF THE BADGER'S BROOK BAND OF 
MICMAC 
a, Antler pick for punching meat to be smoke-dried, b, c, Crooked 
knives (waya'yan). d. Iron awl (slsi'gan). c, Iron awl with carved 
handle. Lensth of c, 9f in. 



BUCHAN 



49 



sources and some miscellaneous Beothuk lore 
gathered incidentally in the interior are next 
presented. 43 

The Story of Buchan's Expedition^ 

(Related by John Paul, of Badger's Brook, 

Newfoundland, 68 years of age in 1914, 

who heard it from his grandfather 45 ) 

•'Captain Buchan, with a Micmac and a 
Mountaineer Indian for guides, went to capture 
some Red Indians. They ascended Exploits 
river in the winter and with the help of their 
guides who knew the country well, discovered a 
Red-Indian camp at Red Indian point, 46 where 
the chief lived. The Micmac and Mountaineer 
guide enabled the party to make friends with 
the people at the camp. Buchan told the Red 
Indians that he had presents for them back on 
Exploits river, and said that he would take two 
of them back with him to get the stuff. So he 
left two of his own men at the camp. So they 
started back to the mouth of Exploits. When 
they got to Rushy pond, caribou footprints were 
seen and the two Red Indians were told by sig- 
nals to give chase. The two then started off, 
not understanding apparently for what reason 
they were sent away. By the next night they 
had not returned, and Buchan told the Micmac 
and Mountaineer to track them. They started 
on the track and came back to report that the 
Red Indians' trail led back toward Red Indian 
lake. So then the whole party started back 
and reached the camp at Red Indian point. 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



50 



BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 



It was deserted, but the two white men were 
found beheaded. Then Buchan gave chase, but 
his party was unable to follow them because 
there were footprints in confusion all over the 
snow on the lake. So Buchan went to several of 
their abandoned camps and put gunpowder in 
all the fireplaces so that they would blow up 
when the Red Indians came back to light the 
fires at their old camps. Afterward, of course, 
a lot of the Red Indians were killed by the 
device. • ** 

"Some time later John Peyton and another 
man (named Day?) went to the interior to cap- 
ture some Red Indians. They struck the head- 
waters of Mary March brook and went down 
walking on the ice until they came to the 
mouth, at the north arm of Red Indian lake. 
This is now Mary March's point, right at the 
village of Millertown. 4r Here they found a 
family camping. They approached slyly and 
took the family by surprise. They took hold 
of the woman, Mary March, and her husband 
came to her aid. They then shot five balls 
into him before he fell. He was a very big 
man, seven feet tall, as they measured him 
with their feet while he lay at full length on the 
ice. Mary March then pointed out to the 
white men her full breasts to show that she had 
a child, and pointed up to the heavens to implore 
them, in God's mercy, to allow her to return to 
her child. But they took her away with them 
and returned to St John where she died after a 
while. 

"My grandfather [John Paul speaking] re- 
membered when he went to St John and saw 



INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 









BONE AND ANTLER IMPLEMENTS OF THE BADGER'S BROOK 
BAND OF MICMAC 
a, b, Caribou-bone scrapers (tcigi'gan) for scraping hair from hides. 
c, d, Antler piercers for perforating margin of hides for lacing when put 
on frames to be scraped, e, Caribou leg-bone scraper. /, Antler hide- 
scraper for scraping grease from skins when stretched on frames 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




1 



PUNCH, NEEDLES. AND CHISEL OF THE BADGERS BROOK 
BAND OF MICMAC 
(a, caribou-bone punch for regulating mesh of snowshoe filling (ilewe'gan); 
7| in. long, b, Snowshoe needle of caribou-bone {tatwi'gan). c, Snow- 
shoe needle of caribou-antler, d, Iron chisel {waliskl'gan, sabiski'gan) for 
cutting L mortise holes in snowshoe frames 



MICMAC LORE 



51 



Mary March. At the time he wore a pair of 
caribou-skin boots. Poor Mary, when she saw 
the boots, pointed to them and was so glad to see 
something that reminded her of her people. 
My grandfather thought she was very good- 
looking and of a fair complexion. They used 
red clay to color themselves with, which is 
known to abound in certain localities on Exploits 
river and Red Indian lake." 



A Meeting Between a Red Indian's 
Family and a Micmac Family 

(Also by John Paul's dictation) 
" My grandfather and grandmother were once 
coming up Exploits river in their canoe. Sud- 
denly coming around a bend they beheld a Red 
Indian and his wife in a canoe coming down. 
When the Red Indian saw them he quickly 
paddled ashore and he and his wife hurried into 
the woods to hide, taking only his bow and 
arrows. The Micmac paddled alongside the 
empty canoe and there saw a small child lying 
in the bottom, but there was nothing to eat in 
the canoe. Then my grandfather said to his 
wife: 'They have nothing to eat and must be 
going down to the tay [Exploits bay] for fish. 
Let us put some of our smoked meat in their 
canoe.' So he put some meat in for a present 
and paddled on. When they got around the 
point, they went ashore and walked back 
through the thicket to where they could see 
the Red Indian's canoe. They beheld the Red 
Indian soon come down to his canoe, look in, 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



52 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



then beckon to his wife, who came out. Then 
he pointed out to her the meat in the canoe. 
Then he pointed to where my grandfather had 
gone up-river in his canoe and paddled off." 

An Encounter with Red Indians near 
Twillingate 

(Told by an old man at Millertown Junction) 
"Near Twillingate the fishermen often went 
into the interior to hunt and trap, leaving their 
women folks home until their return. One time 
an old fellow went hunting, and during his 
absence one night a couple of Red Indians 
came and got upon the roof of the shack. The 
fisherman's wife got frightened and called to her 
children to bring the gun. As soon as the Red 
Indians heard the word 'gun,' which they 
seemed to understand, they fled." 

An Encounter near Dildo Arm 

(Told by Mr Hartigan at Millertown) 
"One time near Dildo Arm some hunters who 
went into the woods left their guns at their 
camp, not suspecting any danger. Some Red 
Indians discovered the camp and were exam- 
ining the outfit. The young white men hid and 
watched the Indians. One of the Indians was 
peeking down the barrel of a gun which was 
loaded, while another was fingering around the 
trigger. The gun suddenly went off and blew 
off the head of the Indian. They were very 
wild and unsophisticated people, and fled in 
terror." 



INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 






WOODEN NETTING IMPLEMENTS OF THE BADGERS BROOK 
BAND OF MICMAC 
a, Netting needle, b, Netting mesh-block for making fishnets, c, d, 
Net floats, charred to prevent waterlogging, d is 11 in. long 




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MICMAC LORE 


53 


Miscellaneous Anecdotes 

a. (Told by William Beaton, a Micmac-Mon- 

tagnais at Badger's Brook) 
"There was once, it is told, a large schooner 
loaded with fifty tierces of codfish anchored off 
the shore in Twillingate bay. The crew had 
gone ashore, and during one night the schooner 
was boarded by some Red Indians and dis- 
mantled. When the crew returned they found 
all her sails cleared away and her ropes all gone. 
All her instruments and clocks were also taken. 
The Red Indians took everything in the outfit. 
They used the sails for tents and clothing. 
Years afterward the works of the clocks stolen 
from this schooner, it is supposed, were found 
by some hunters on the shores of Exploits 
river." 

b. (Told by Mr Tuck, of Millertown, who, 

Jwhen he was a boy, heard it from) 
John Day himself) 
'John Day, who died some years ago 'at 
Springdale, was with Peyton when he cap- 
tured Mary March. They had to kill her hus- 
band by snooting seven balls into him. Then 
he sat down and could not move any more 
after the seventh shot. Mary March showed 
the men her breasts full for her sucking child, 
but nevertheless they carried her away." 

c. (Told by Louis John, a Micmac-Montagnais 

at Badger's'Brook) 
"Ben Jore's grandfather was killed" by the 
Red Indians near the mouth of Exploits river. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





54 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



They cut off his head, put it on a pole, and 
danced around it." 

d. (Told by an old Scotchman at Millertown 
Junction, recalling memories of his youth. 
He added, "The Red Indians were such bad 
r people I fancy it was no sin to kill them!") 

"The last evidence of the Red Indians was 
seen at Grand lake by a hunter many years ago. 
One year he saw a big smoke on an island in the 
lake. A canoe-load of Indians was seen going 
from the shore to the island. The hunter was 
afraid to investigate further at the time, but 
the next year he went to the same place. This 
time, however, he did not see any more traces 
of the Indians." 



As an instance of the friendly relations 
claimed by the Micmac-Montagnais with 
the Red Indians, which I have already 
mentioned, Louis John, quoted above, says 
that his grandfather's father was employed 
by the English to guide them to Red Indian 
lake to try to capture some Red Indians. 
When he found a Red Indians' camp he 
would tell the poor folk to run, and then 
he would return and tell the Englishmen 
that he saw some Red Indians, but that they 
ran off. "The Micmacs never molested the 
Red Indians," declared Louis John. 



INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 






irr&ift 







SPLINT BASKETRY OF THE BADGER'S BROOK BAND OF 

MICMAC 

a shows a splint wall-pocket; the others are hand and trinket baskets 



56 


BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 




deserve serious consideration, I hardly think, 
under the curcumstances, that the conclu- 
sions of one trained in sciences other than 
ethnology are sufficient to warrant abso- 
lutely casting aside information which may 
be of value, and which on the face of it 
does bear some semblance of truthfulness. 
In July, 1910, I happened to talk over 
ethnological matters with a family of Mic- 
mac who were temporarily camped near 
Gloucester, Mass. The family consisted of 
an aged woman, her son, his wife and child 
(pi. xxxrv-xxxvi) . They all spoke Micmac. 
The family name was Toney. On inquiring 
of the young man, Joe Toney, where he was 
born, he told me in Newfoundland. Then 
becoming more interested, I inquired if his 
mother was a native of Newfoundland, and 
he replied that she was. After a few min- 
utes' talk with his mother, he said that she 
was not a true Micmac, but that her father 
was an Osa'yaria Indian from Red Pond, 
Newfoundland. This naturally startled me, 
because it referred indirectly to the suppos- 
edly extinct Beothuk. Further conversa- 
tion with the young man, who translated 




INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 









FETISH OBJECTS OF THE BADGER'S BROOK BAND OF MICMAC 
a, Hunter's luck-charm of lynx-teeth, b, c, Hunter's luck-charms 
(kwundeu) of stone, kept about the house on a string 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




MICMAC DOLL REPRESENTING 'RED INDIAN" (BEOTHUK) 



SANTU 


57 


my questions to his mother, disclosed the 
fact that she was endeavoring to explain to 
me that, while her mother was a Micmac 
woman, her father was a member of the 
tribe which had been exterminated in the 
island by white men. There was at this 
time in her statements no idea of boasting, 
nor of gaining money or favor. She did not 
claim to know any words of her father's 
language, but declared her willingness, if I 
would give her time, to try to recall some. 
On one thing she was definite at the very 
first: that her father claimed that he had 
been stained red when he was a baby among 
his own people, and that his people were 
very crude and were persecuted by the 
English. He had, it seems, been taken by 
the Micmac when he was young, reared by 
them, and converted to Christianity. As 
for the rest, suffice to say that I spent time 
when possible during the rest of the summer 
in following the family about from one sum- 
mer resort to another, encouraging the old 
lady, through her son, to endeavor to recall 
all that she could of what she had heard her 
father narrate of his early life and people. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





58 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




The old woman was very difficult to work 
with; because of growing senility she was 
unable to concentrate her attention on any 
one thing for a sufficient length of time 
really to accomplish anything. Petty fam- 
ily troubles and present ills consumed her 
interest. And so by eking out reminis- 
cences of that period of her life when she 
lived with her father in Newfoundland, I 
tediously gathered the information that 
follows. In September I lost traces of the 
family, which, I learned later, had moved 
to Attleboro, Mass. 49 Knowing the old 
woman's manner and the circumstances, I 
am convinced that she was not intention- 
ally fabricating a story. My only distrust 
of the material she was able to give lies in 
the accuracy of her memory, especially in 
regard to her vocabulary. 

THE INFORMANT'S HISTORY 

Santu was born in Newfoundland near 
"Red Pond" (Red Indian lake), about 
seventy -five years ago (dating from 1912). 
Her father, "Kop" (name of a red root found 
in the lake, according to her vocabulary), 50 




INDIAN NOTES 




>• g 

Hz c 

^o - 

u_ S 

Q_|_ o 

o- *« 

DC 



■Q 

is J 

i-o G 



ox o 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




SANTU AND HER SON. JOE TONEY 



S A N T U 


59 


was a full-blood native of a tribe which called 
itself Osa'yan'a. The name is also known 
among the Micmac as Osa'yan'a. With 
her father she left Newfoundland at about 
the age of ten, or a little less, and removed 
to Nova Scotia, where she passed her early 
womanhood. Her mother was a Micmac 
woman, one of the band who lived in New- 
foundland. She died, it seems, when Santu 
was quite young. When Santu grew up, she 
married a Mohawk and spent part of her 
time in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 
and part in roaming about in the neighbor- 
hood of the Great Lakes with her Mohawk 
husband until the Civil War broke out, 
when, to escape being drafted, he led her 
wandering again throughout the northeast- 
ern states and eastern Canada. Her hus- 
band fchen died. Santu returned to Nova 
Scotia and married a Micmac chief near 
Yarmouth, whose name was Toney. Liv- 
ing there a while, she had four or five chil- 
dren, and finally, with her youngest son, 
separated from her husband and since then 
has been drifting about the New England 
states with him, earning an uncertain living 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





60 


BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 




by basket-making, bead-working, and for- 
tune-telling. Her one son, Joe Toney, still 
lives with her. He has married a Micmac 
woman of Nova Scotia, and they have one 
child (1912). 

ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES 

Santu remembers in her childhood having 
traveled with her father in the skin canoes 
which seem to have been one of the types 
of craft in use by the Osa'yan'a. hl While 
the details of construction given by Santu 
were very vague, it seems that the canoe 
was more of a kayak. It was about fifteen 
feet in length and about two and a half in 
width, constructed on a wooden framework 
with a caribou- or seal-skin covering sewed 
with water-tight seams. The seams were 
sewed by laying the two edges together, 
bending them over and sewing the three 
thicknesses together. Bone awls, she said, 
were used to perforate the holes for the 
stitches. The bow of the canoe, she re- 
marked, was straightened and stiffened by a 
piece of spruce-bark (sic), b2 and another 
curved piece held the stern in shape. The 




INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




SANTU 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




JOE TONEY 



S A N T U 



61 



bottom was found. At the back sat the 
man with his paddle. The whole front of 
the craft was covered with the skin, forming 
an enclosure large enough to contain the 
whole family, including women, children, 
dogs, and property. At his side and in 
front of him the man had his harpoon and 
other necessaries fastened on the side of the 
deck. It is to be understood from this 
description that a covered kayak-like type 
of boat is described. The skin-covering of 
the canoe was so arranged that it could be 
wrapped around the waist of the man so 
that no water could come into the hold in 
rough weather In this craft the family 
traveled all over the country by waterways 
and coast, day and night. When a landing 
and camp were to be made the cover would 
be taken off the canoe, poles cut for a wig- 
wam, and a temporary camp made until it 
was time to move on. Santu herself re- 
members being bundled in with dogs and 
members of her family, and traveling by 
night and day with her father. 

The people, she claimed, subsisted largely 
on sea mammals' flesh and caribou, using the 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



62 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



harpoon for killing the former and the bow 
and arrow for the latter. When an animal 
was killed with an arrow, the arrow w r as 
never used again, but thrown away as a 
kind of sacrifice. 

Flesh to be eaten was thrown on the fire 
and only partly roasted. Her father, she re- 
members, would eat little or no vegetal food 
nor bread. His diet consisted mostly of 
half-roasted meat. 

A certain species of leaves was smoked in 
stone pipes. 53 

Allowance should be made for the proba- 
bility that in some of these descriptions the 
old woman's memory was so hazy that she 
could not distinguish between what she 
intended to claim as applying to the cus- 
toms of her father's people and those of the 
Micmac-Montagnais among whom they 
lived. 

The most interesting information is that 
describing an annual ceremony participated 
in by the tribe at "Red Pond." It took 
place in the spring of the year when the tribe 
gathered and enjoyed, to use Santu's phrase, 
"a big time." Games were played, among 



INDIAN NOTES 



SANTU 



63 



them the dice-and-bowl game in two forms. 
One of these was with seven dice discs and 
a bowl, 54 and seventeen counters — four 
square ones and a crooked one called the 
"chief." The other form of the game was 
played with one large die, about two inches 
across, and six small ones, which were thrown 
upon a blanket or a hide and struck side- 
wise with the hand. 55 Men only played the 
latter. The Micmac and other eastern 
tribes, she claimed, learned this game orig- 
inally from her people. It is worthy of note 
that this game does not occur among the 
Wabanaki west of the Micmac. Dancing 
and feasting accompanied the event. At a 
certain time the men procured quantities of a 
kind of red root from the lake and squeezed 
from it the juice which was used for staining 
their bodies red. The ceremony is said to 
have lasted about ten days. Every person 
in the tribe was dyed. Children who were 
born during the year away in the hunting 
territories were brought to this ceremony 
for the first time and received their coat of 
dye, which was to last them for the year. 
It is supposed that under certain conditions 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



64 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



the dye could be renewed, though the ap- 
plication of the coloring was regarded as a 
kind of initiation and mark of tribal iden- 
tity. One good application is said to have 
lasted six months. Santu's father, she 
claimed, was the last child to have been 
treated in this way. When he grew up he 
was converted to Catholicism and gave up 
his belief in the necessity of the red dye. If 
anyone was observed by the chief to have 
some of the coloring washed from any part 
of his body, he was ordered to go to water 
and wash off his dye as a punishment, and 
not to renew it until the next ceremony. 56 

Santu heard the tradition from her father 
that in his grandfather's time (?) a ship was 
wrecked off the coast of Newfoundland and 
all hands were drowned except two women 
who, with the help of the natives, were 
brought ashore. One of them shortly after- 
ward died; the other remained with the 
tribe, married one of the men, and spent 
her life there. Her father thought that he 
was descended from this woman. 

Several opinions expressed by Santu re- 
garding her father's people may be of value. 



INDIAN NOTES 



SANTU 


65 


One was in reply to a direct question as to 
whether her father's people were of mixed 
Eskimo and Indian blood. Friendly rela- 
tions, she said, were maintained with the 
Labrador Eskimo and Indians. Some of 
her father's people, she said, when dis- 
persed, joined them. She remembers, while 
living in Nova Scotia, a paternal uncle or 
great-uncle returning from Greenland where 
he had emigrated and intermarried with the 
Eskimo there. He claimed that others of 
their people were in Greenland, all inter- 
married with Eskimo, and that there were 
a number of children. He died there within 
six months after coming to Nova Scotia. 
Santu stated that she had a relative (I fail 
to recall whether it was a cousin or a brother) 
-somewhere who knew a great deal of the 
Osa'yana language. 

The Micmac, she said, came to New- 
foundland a long time ago and for a while, 
with the white people, fought her people. 
Afterward a number intermarried with the 
Osa'ydn'a, some of the descendants of the 
latter being still scattered here and there 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





66 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



among the Micmac of Newfoundland and 
elsewhere. 

There seems little doubt from Santu's 
statements that Osa'yoiria descendants may 
be found in the maritime provinces and that 
the tribal name itself is one of the native 
terms for the tribe known in history as the 
Beothuk. 

Santu, with great difficulty during the 
summer, remembered the following words in 
her father's language: 

be'nam, woman (Micmac and Malecite epit, 

Penobscot p'hc'nam). 
gu'wa, fat person (Micmac me'gigit). 
gau, rain (Micmac gi'kpcsa*'). 
hag, baby cradle, or cradle-board. 
tu" b , baby blanket (Micmac wobi' r sun). 
se'ko, prayer (Micmac alasit''dma). 
si"kane's'u, whale (Micmac po'dap, Penobscot 

-es'u, "living creature," noun ending in animal 

names). 

Note: g , b , weakly articulated final conso- 
nants. 

Her father's people, Santu alleged, used 
their hands a great deal in conversation. 
The only word in the above list in which 
any resemblance can be recognized as occur- 
ring in any of the published Beothuk lists 



INDIAN NOTES 



SANTU 


67 


is the term be' nam, "woman." Compare 
emam- (emamoose), "woman" (Peyton vo- 
cabulary; (Lloyd in Journal of the Anthropo- 
logical Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 
1875), and enam, "woman," given by Patter- 
son in Transactions of the Royal Society of 
Canada, vol. x. 

Among other reminiscences I add the 
following song, transcribed by Mr J. D. 
Sapir from a phonograph record made by 
Santu while she was camped at Hampton 
Beach, N. H., in 1910. It was a rendition 
of a song that she had learned from her 
father when she was a girl. She claimed 
that her father told her that it was an 
Osa'yotn'a song. 

The syllables were too inarticulate to be 
taken down at the time, I am sorry to say. 
Santu stated that she was unable to explain 
them, because they had no sequence of mean- 
ing to her. 

Again during my trip in Newfoundland 
I inquired of several elderly Indians about 
the woman Santu. John Paul, already 
mentioned, knew of a woman of Santu's 
description who had gone to Nova Scotia 




AND MONOGRAPHS 






68 



SANTU 


69 


and was there the wife of a wealthy Micmac 
chief named Toney. He furthermore, much 
to my inward surprise, credited the claim 
that her father had been a man of Red 
Indian blood. He stated that the thing 
was not only possible, but that it might 
well be expected to be true, considering the 
sedentary habits of many of the Micmac 
hunters and the secretiveness of the Indians 
concerning the Red Indians a generation or 
so ago through fear of retaliation or at least 
molestation at the hands of the English, 
since such a stir had been raised over them. 
From Micmac in Newfoundland I even 
learned of another man, George McCloud, 
whom no one could locate at the time. 
He was said to have knowledge not only of 
the Red Indian language, but also of where 
descendants could still be found in Labrador. 
If, despite the meagerness of our actual 
knowledge of the tribe, any conclusions are 
at all permissible, I believe the indications 
will increasingly show that the Beothuk 
formed an archaic member of the culture 
group which embraced the Micmac and the 
other northeastern Algonkian. This is a 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





70 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




strong corroboration of the evidence of lin- 
guistic relationship with the Algonkian. 
As for the likelihood of Eskimo relationship, 
the links of union, either archeological or 
otherwise, are not a bit stronger than be- 
tween the Eskimo and the Montagnais. 
The next thing to be done in this field, 
aside from systematic archeological research, 
is to collect a sufficient quantity of mytho- 
logical material from the Newfoundland In- 
dians for comparison with that of the Mic- 
mac of the mainland in order to determine, 
if possible, traces of what might be consid- 
ered Beothuk influence. 




INDIAN NOTES 



NOTES 



71 



NOTES 

1. The primary object of the expedition, if it 

might be called one, was to trace the re- 
mains among the Micmac of the old 
Algonkian institution of the family hunt- 
ing territory, which was first mentioned 
in this region by Le Clercq in 1691. The 
results form part II of this paper. 

2. C. C. Willoughby, Prehistoric Burial Places 

in Maine, Archaeological and Ethnological 
Papers of the Peabody Museum, vol. 1, 
no. 6, Cambridge, 1898. 

3. W. K. Moorehead, The Red Paint People 

of Maine, American Anthropologist, vol. 
15, no. 1, 1913. 

4. F. G. Speck, An Ancient Archeological Site 

on the Lower St Lawrence, Holmes An- 
niversary Volume, Washington, 1916. 

5. J. P. Howley, The Beothuks or Red Indians 

of Newfoundland . ., Cambridge 

University Press, 1915. 

6. Mr Howley (op. cit., p. xix) in his intro- 

duction rather indefinitely favors the 
theory of Athabascan affinity. He says: 
"On the authority of the late Sir Wil- 
liam Dawson ... a tradition existed 
among the Micmac tribes of Nova Scotia 
that a previous people occupied that ter- 
ritory whom the Micmacs drove out and 
who were probably allied to the Tinne or 
Chippewan stock. These, he thinks, may 
have passed over to Newfoundland and 
become the progenitors of the Beothuks. 
This supposition appears to me to carry 
with it a considerable amount of proba- 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



72 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



bility. Here, isolated and undisturbed 
for several centuries, untainted by inter- 
mixture with other tribes, they could re- 
tain all their original traits of character, 
language, etc., which remained with them 
as distinctive features down to the last 

moments of their existence 

Under all* circumstances surrounding 
this mysterious tribe, we must only fall 
back upon the suggestion of Sir William 
Dawson as the most plausible theory to 
account for their presence here." 

7. The derivation of this term is not clear to 

the informants, beyond the plural adjec- 
tival suffix — wi'ak. In the Micmac 
names here given, the character y de- 
notes a velar voiced sperant, x the cor- 
responding surd. 

8. Page 59 of this paper. 

9. W. H. Mechling, Malecite Tales, Anthro- 

pological Series, Geological Surrey of 
Canada, no. 4, 1914, p. 65. 

10. Ibid., p. 65, footnote. 

11. Howley, op. cit., p. 286. 

12. See also S. T. Rand, Dictionary of the 

Language of the Micmac Indians, 1888, 
p. 215. Howley (op. cit., pp. 284-6) gives 
a Micmac tradition from Nova Scotia 
relating to the Beothuk. C. G. Leland 
(Algonquin Legends of New England, 
Boston, 1885, pp. 206-7), in commenting 
on a Passamaquoddy tale in which the 
wolverene marries a red woman whose 
color rubbed off when she was touched, 
entertains the rather far-fetched idea 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOTES 



73 



that the tale referred to the "Newfound- 
land Indians covered with red ochre." 

13. Cf. Howley, op. cit., p. 30, where he quotes 

Cartwright's description. 

14. These fences are known also to the Mon- 

tagnais of Labrador, who call them 
nkdwagana' ck*™ , and were used by the New 
England Indians. Cf. The History of 
Philip's War, ... by Thomas Church, Esq. 
. . . with an appendix, . . . Samuel G. 
Drake, 2nd ed., Exeter, N. H., 1829, p. 340. 

15. Anecdotes will later be given. Howley (op. 

cit., pp. 91-2, 269, 271, 280) refers to 
this activity on the part of the Beothuk. 

16. Resume of material quoted from part II of 

this volume. 

17. The same omen is found generally through- 

out the tribes of the Wabanaki group. 

18. P_and, op. cit., p. 200. An almost identical 

tale among the Passamaquoddy accounts 
for the hostility between them and the Mo- 
hawk. (Cf. J. D. Prince, Passamaquoddy 
Documents, Annals of N. Y. Academy 
of Science, 1898, vol. xi, no. 15, p. 371.) 

19. Several historical sources agree on this 

point, Cormack, Howley, and Jukes. 
Howley (op. cit., pp. 25-26) quotes a tra- 
dition from J. B. Jukes, Excursions in 
Newfoundland, London, 1842, p. 129. 

20. Cf. Howley, op. cit., pp. 29-30, quoting 

Cartwright's Journal. Cartwright de- 
scribes the construction of the square or 
winter camp of logs placed horizontally 
to form the lower part, and the bark 
pyramidal roof. The hoop, he says, 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



74 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



appear near the top of the roof. The 
hoop seems to be a feature differentiating 
the wigwam construction of the tribes of 
the Waban^ki and M ntag ais groups 
from that of all other northern peoples of 
America. Consult also Howley (op. cit., 
p. 245 and sketch vi), who mentions this 
feature of construction. 

21. Cf. W. C. Orchard, Notes on Penobscot 

Houses, American Anthropologist, vol. 
ii, no. 4 (1909), p. 602. 

22. Howley, op. cit., pp. 31-33, quotes Cart- 

wright in full and also gives figures of 
miniature canoes in his own collection 
(pis. xxxi, xxxiv). 

23. Cormack in his Journal says that the Mic- 

mac whom he met in the interior of the 
island told him that the Red Indians used 
skin canoes similar to their own (quoted 
by Howley, op. cit., p. 152, also p. 213) 

24. This information is confirmed by Denys 

(1672), who describes in some detail the 
method of applying the colors. (Cf. 
Nicholas Denys, The Description and 
Natural History of the Coasts of North 
America, edition of the Champlain 
Society, Toronto, 1908, by W. F. Ganong ; 
p. 411.) Le Clercq mentions the same 
thing. (Cf. Chrestien Le Clercq, New 
Relation of Gaspesia, edition of the Cham- 
plain Society, Toronto, 1910 by W. F. 
Ganong, p. 96.) 

25. Another name is te'bu't'k', a term possibly of 

English origin, from "the boots." Cf. 
also Rand, Micmac Dictionary, p. 41. 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOTES 


75 


26. Footwear made of the leg skin or hock of the 

caribou is mentioned as a characteristic 
of the Beothuk (Howley, op. cit., pp. 
271, 322). The same thing is common 
among the Micmac and the rest of the 
northern and eastern Algonkian. 

27. Rand (Micmac Dictionary, p. 161) has 

ultdktd' gund' , "loom," and (p. 278) 
eltdktddgd, "to weave." 

28. Mention of weaving on a frame was made by 

Nicholas Denys (1672), op, cit. Rand 
(Micmac-English Dictionary, p. 255) 
gives wiskobooksoon, "straps."' 

29. Rand (Micmac Dictionary, p. 249) gives 

mimundd', "to spin flax on a little 
wheel." 

30. F. G. Speck, The Double Curve Motive in 

Northeastern Algonkian Art, Geological 
Survey of Canada, Anthropological Series, 
no. 1, 1914, p. 11, fig. 14. 

31. Rand (Micmac Dictionary, p. 201) gives 

moolsdivd', "pouch." 

32. Howley (op. cit., p. 87) reproduces Cart- 

wright's figure of a Beothuk snowshoe in 
which the shape and proportions are 
almost identical with those of the ordi- 
nary Micmac article used on the island 
today (see pi. xxm). The dimensions 
of the Beothuk shoe are given as: width 
15 inches, body 3? feet, tail 1 foot, which 
are about the same as those of the speci- 
mens just referred to. 

33. For these terms Rand (op. cit., p. 151) gives 

wdkagun'igUn, "crooked knife," (p. 178) 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





76 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



tddooigun, "snowshoe needle," and sakiide, 
"needle." 

34. For these implements Rand (Micmac Dic- 

tionary, p. 129) has: tipskaoo, "harpoon," 
semoogwode, "spear," and negok, "salmon 
spear" (p. 246). 

35. Supposedly a corruption of French panier. 

Rand (Micmac Dictionary, p. 31), poota- 
ledud. 

36. I have introduced a brief treatment of the 

northward spread of splint basketry in 
Decorative Art and Basketry of the 
Cherokee, Bulletin of the Public Museum 
of Milwaukee, vol. 2, no. 2, 1920. 

37. Bark vessels and baskets were common Beo- 

thuk manufactures (Howley, op. cit., pp. 
249, 214 and sketch vn, and pi. xxxi, 
xxxrv)- The types and details of stitch- 
ing are the same as in the ordinary In- 
dian specimens. In the Beothuk names 
for these receptacles, guinya butt, "water 
bucket" (also booch-moot, "seal stomach 
oil bag"), we recognize cognate Algonkian 
— miut 1 (AJontagnais ),-uf (Malecite), and 
-udi (Penobscot), "receptacle." 

38. Howley, op. cit., p. 340 and pi. xxv. 

39. Quoting John Paul. 

40. Article on Beothuk in Handbook of Ameri- 

can Indians, Bulletin 30, Bureau of Ameri- 
can Ethnology, part I, p. 142. 

41. This negative information cannot be relied 

on, as several accounts contradict one 
another on the point. Cf. Howley (pp. 
19-20), quoting Richard Whitbourne, A 
Liscourse a d Discovery of the Newe- 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOTES 



77 



founde-launde, London 1622, and also 
Howley, p. 221. 

42. Bonnycastle, R. H., Newfoundland in 1842 

(London, 1842). Whatever may be the 
tree referred to by this unique name, it 
could hardly be the pine of the region, 
Bank's or jack pine. All northern In- 
dians know that inner birch rind and even 
poplar can be made to yield a little nour- 
ishment in times of famine, but seldom 
pine bark. 

43. Howley (op. cit, pp. 265-288) records a 

number of anecdotes, some of which might 
be considered as variants of those given 
here. 

44. In 1801 Lieutenant Buchan, of the Royal 

Navy, was sent to the River Exploits to 
winter there and to open communication 
with the Indians. He succeeded in find- 
ing a party of them. Inducing two of 
their number to go with him as hostages, 
and leaving two marines with the Indians 
at the main camp as a pledge of good faith, 
he returned to his depot for presents. 
During his absence the fears of the Red In- 
dians were aroused, lest from his delay 
in returning he might bring up reinforce- 
ments with a view of capturing them. In 
the meantime one of the two Red Indians 
took fright and fled back to the main 
camp. They murdered the hostages and 
fled to the interior. This was at Red 
Indian lake, near the mouth of Mary 
March brook. In 1819 a female was 
taken by a party of trappers on Red In- 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



78 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



dian lake. Her husband was with her, 
and having offered resistance was shot. 
The leader of the men of the party was 
named Peyton. The woman was brought 
to St John's and was named' Mary 
March, from the month in which she was 
taken. She was treated with kindness 
and sent back to her friends with numer- 
ous presents, but died on the voyage, 
having been suffering for some time with 
consumption. Her body was placed in a 
coffin and left on the margin of the lake, 
so that it might be found by her rela- 
tives. The latter conveyed it to their 
burying place on Red Indian lake, where 
it was found several years later by Cor- 
mack, lying beside the body of her mur- 
dered husband. 

45. John Paul had been a headman among the 

Micmac-Montagnais of the island and 
was particularly well-informed in matters 
of native life. His age, experience, and 
willingness to help in this work made him 
invaluable, and I take this occasion to 
recommend him to others who may under- 
take similar studies in this region where 
the younger generation of natives is not 
well informed nor conservative. 

46. This is Red Indian point, on Red Indian 

lake; see pi. i-v. A larger excavation 
than the others at this site is pointed out 
as the chief's wigwam. 

47. The lumbermen who have recently invaded 

this region have fortunately spared a large 
spruce tree which is popularly believed 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOTES 



79 



to be the tree under which Mary March 
was captured. It stands on a sandy point 
called Mary March's point, and archeo- 
logical evidences here indicate a former 
camp. This tree, which is now (1914) 
in danger of falling, is shown in pi. v. 

48. Previously to this Mr Howley had indi- 

cated in a letter that he thought the in- 
formant was making her claim for the 
purpose of gain. 

49. Later, in the following spring, Mr R. S. 

Dahl, a former associate of Mr Howley, 
who was also deeply interested in the 
Beothuk, came to Philadelphia to see me 
concerning Santu. When, however, he 
went to Attleboro to trace them, "the 
family had left. Since then Joe Toney 
has returned irregularly to Gloucester, 
Mass., where I have seen him. His 
mother in 1916 had returned to Yar- 
mouth, Nova Scotia, where her husband 
died recently. (Since this was written I 
have heard that she died in 1919.) 

50. Incidentally, Cope is a common family sur- 

name among the Nova Scotia Micmac, 
see page 103. I do not regard this infor- 
mation as strictly reliable. 

51. We recognize in this the common craft of 

the Newfoundland Micmac. 

52. She evidently referred to the curved keel- 

son of spruce forming the ends. 

53. Compare Howley (op. cit., p. 322) for ref- 

erence to stone pipes. 

54. The common Micmac and Wabanaki game 

of waltesta'yan. 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



80 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



55. This corresponds with the Micmac game of 

wabdna'yan, played with eight ivory discs, 
or dice, an inch in diameter. The play- 
ers, who may be of any number, take 
turns throwing the discs upon a blanket. 
There are only three throws that count. 
A throw showing two discs with the same 
side up counts one (ma'xtewi' txamo'ui)) 
one only facing up and seven opposite, 
count five (wa'biteui' txamo'wi). Should 
a player throw all, flat side down the same 
way, it is called mi'ktcik tciwa'wod, 
"turtle eggs," and wins the game. The 
above is the manner in which it is 
played in Cape Breton. 

56. Cormack records that the Beothuk never 

washed "except when a husband or a wife 
died" (Howley, p. 230). 



INDIAN NOTES 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 

PART II 

MICMAC HUNTING TERRITORIES 

IN NOVA SCOTIA AND 

NEWFOUNDLAND 

BY 

FRANK G. SPECK 



Ml 



II. MICMAC HUNTING TERRI- 
TORIES IN NOVA SCOTIA 
AND NEWFOUNDLAND 

By Frank G. Speck 

INTRODUCTION 

T~" HE subject of the family hunting 
territory which provides the key- 
note to the social organization 
of the northern and eastern Al- 
gonkian tribes has become by this time 
fairly familiar to ethnologists, first through 
the reports of surveys which I have so 
far completed for the Division of An- 
thropology of the Geological Survey of 
Canada (by whose sanction this paper 
is published), and later through the hand- 
ling of the situation as a sociological phe- 
nomenon by Dr. R. H. Lowie in his re- 
cent treatise. 1 No one would now deny that 
here is to be found one of the most fundamen- 



83 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



84 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




tal properties of old Algonkian culture; that 
here is an exceedingly primitive group show- 
ing the developed idea of established geo- 
graphical claims. And of still more impor- 
tance, it has become apparent that in this 
relatively primitive level, patrilineality oc- 
curs as a social feature chronologically an- 
terior to the matrilineal grouping, and even 
culturally below it. The general applicabil- 
ity of theories of social evolution, like those 
of Bachofen, Morgan, and Hartland, which 
insist on the priority of the matrilineal 
grouping, are destined to assume a more and 
more dubious aspect as intensive exploration 
proceeds into the social life of hitherto 
little-known and loosely organized .tribes. 
It remains, therefore, as a most urgent 
task to prosecute the survey of the prim- 
itive nomadic tribes of the Hudsonian and 
Arctic zones for the full census of those 
whose social organization is based on the 
paternal family and who observe the 
family hunting territorial divisions. When 
this has been done, speculations may be 
expected to take a more final form. There 
are still large areas to traverse and to map 




INDIAN NOTES 






INTRODUCTION 



85 



out, and there are varied types of social 
structure to be analyzed, in which minor 
developments have appeared and become 
associated with the territorial units. In the 
accompanying report, the hunting group is 
traced in the maritime provinces eastward 
to the Atlantic, thus covering one more 
large area in the gradual spread of our 
knowledge. Surveys are already partially 
completed for the region lying from Lake 
Waswanipi in northern Quebec southward 
to the St Lawrence and eastward to Port- 
neuf river. 

In some parts of this zone there are spe- 
cific variations. Among the Ojibwa, for 
instance, a strong feature is the interasso- 
ciation of the biological family group with 
the patrilineal exogamic gens. Among the 
Montagnais the absence of the gens is 
noteworthy, but the development of the 
geographical feature stands forth in the dis- 
trict names. At Penobscot there is the as- 
sociation of family ancestry with animals, 
approaching the idea of the so-called "use 
totem," discussed by Rivers and Golden 
weiser. Our present case shows the Mic 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



86 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



mac to present little to mark their form of 
the institution with distinctive emphasis. 
Here the family territories seem to be less 
permanent, less hereditary, than elsewhere, 
and the judicial power of the chief in the 
reassignment of territory seems to be rather 
more definite. In other respects a compari- 
son of the Micmac hunting territory insti- 
tution with that of neighboring tribes seems 
to show an absence of specialization in the 
case of the former. 

HUNTING TERRITORIES IN NOVA SCOTIA 

The Micmac, like the rest of the northern 
and eastern Algonkian, whose subsistence 
was gained by hunting and fishing, had 
their country subdivided into more or less 
well recognized districts in which certain 
individual proprietors or families enjoyed 
the inherited privilege of hunting. Having 
already made this matter the subject of in- 
vestigations during several seasons among 
the Montagnais, Mistassini, northern 
Ojibwa, Algonquin, and the Penobscot and 
Abnaki of the east, I spent part of the 
summer of 1914 in visiting the settlements 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOVA SCOTIA 


87 


of the Micmac of Nova Scotia, Cape Bre- 
ton, and Newfoundland, to make collateral 
studies among the most easterly branches of 
the Algonkian stock. The social organi- 
zation of this people is also characterized 
by a grouping into hunting families, and 
it also shows the second associated feature; 
it is extremely loose in general. The results 
of my survey are presented in this paper. 

It should be remembered by anyone tak- 
ing up this subject of family groupings and 
territorial claims from the sociological 
point of view, that, in contrast with the 
north central Algonkians (Ojibwa, Algon- 
quin), there is no intercrossing among the 
Micmac of a clan organization with the 
family group. Neither exogamy nor other 
elements of group totemism are now found 
here as among the Ojibwa, Algonquin, 
or even the Penobscot, who have indeed 
some semblance of the animal totemic group 
formation manifested in such phenomena as 
family explanation myths, group naming, 
emblems, and a certain social identity within 
the group. It is true of the Micmac 
throughout, so far as I could learn, that the 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 



family groups and their hunting territories, 
whether held by the group in common or by 
individuals, are found to rest on a purely 
economic basis, with no sociological phe- 
nomenon other than kinship involved. 2 

We are fortunate in having several notices 
of the existence of the hunting territory in 
Father Le Clercq's time (1691), which not 
only authenticate the matter among the 
Micmac but which give a fair summary of 
characteristics. It is necessary that Le 
Clercq be quoted. 

"It is the right of the head of the nation 
according to the customs of the country, which 
serve as laws and regulations to the Gaspesians, 
to distribute the places of hunting (les endroits 
de la chasse) to each individual. It is not per- 
mitted to any Indian to overstep the bounds 
and limits of the region (d' outre-passer les 
homes et les limites du quarlier) which shall 
have been assigned to him in the assembly of 
the elders. These are held in autumn and in 
spring expressly to make this assignment." 3 

Le Clercq also speaks of the territories in 
another place, using the expression, "The 
occupation of this chief was to assign the 
places for hunting (de regler les lieux de 
chasse) " A It is important to note that, 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOVA SCOTIA 


89 


among the Indians who use Canadian 
French today, the designations "lieux de 
chasse" and "endroits de la chasse" are the 
same. 
Again the same author tells us: 

"The most important places for fishing and 
hunting are marked by the crosses which they 
set up in the vicinity, and one is agreeably sur- 
prised in voyaging through this country to find 
from time to time upon the borders of the rivers 
crosses with double and triple cross-pieces like 
those of the patriarchs." 5 

Any question as to the antiquity or the 
nativity of the institution we are interested 
in among the Micmac is decisively met by 
these statements. Nicholas Denys, who 
wrote about Micmac customs nineteen years 
earlier than Le Clercq, does not, however, 
refer specifically to it, although he speaks 
briefly of the conservation of the game which 
is often an accompanying feature. 

"They killed the animals only in proportion 
as they had need of them. \Yhen they were 
tired of eating one sort, they killed some of 
another.'*' 6 

The Micmac family group seems to have 
possessed a rather unstable character. It 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





90 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




consisted of the father of the family, his 
wife and children, and other members of his 
own kin who, through individual circum- 
stances, might be left to his support. Gen- 
erally the family included the living grand- 
parents, and frequently aunts, uncles, and 
even relatives by marriage. Accordingly, 
the content of the group changed as the 
children became married and left, or in- 
creased as bereaved relatives were added. 
It was a common practice for a man to 
join his father-in-law's family for a time 
after marriage among the Micmac as well 
as among the other northern tribes covered 
so far by the investigation. The Micmac 
newly-married man generally did this unless 
local conditions made another course advis- 
able. After a year or so with his father-in- 
law, he was expected to set up a new 
domestic establishment on hunting grounds 
acquired through reapportionment or inher- 
itance, or else to settle, should circum- 
stances be favorable, on part of the patri- 
monial territory under his own identity or 
that of his father. The family unit was, 




INDIAN NOTES 



NOVA SCOTIA 


91 


in respect to its membership, judging from 
all sources, an exceedingly variable quantity. 
A side-light is thrown upon another social 
aspect of the early Micmac by Le Clercq 
which shows that here, as elsewhere in the 
wide area where the family band with its 
hunting territory takes the place of the 
clan or gentile unit, numerical strength 
of the family counts for something in de- 
termining social position. Le Clercq says, 
in speaking of chiefs or leaders: 

"We had among us at the River of St Joseph 
[the Restigouche] one of these old chiefs whom 
our Gaspesians considered as their* head and 
their ruler, much more because of his family 
which was very numerous, than because of his 
sovereign power." 7 

This material puts a very simplified aspect 
on the family institution here, in contrast 
with the greater complexity prevailing among 
the Algonkian farther west. It is difficult 
to form an opinion yet as to whether the 
simplicity is a sign of archaism or of degener- 
ated culture in comparison with the other 
Algonkian. Since I hope to pursue the in- 
vestigation of this institution through the 
whole habitat of the northern hunting tribes, 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





92 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



if the opportunity offers, we may leave the 
discussion of the question until more is 
known of the facts, and proceed directly to 
the material as it presents itself among 
the Micmac. 

In Nova Scotia I procured data covering 
nearly the whole peninsula. The portion 
not covered is the extreme southwestern 
part of the peninsula, the habitat of the 
Yarmouth band, which I did not visit. 
The hunting territory is known here as 
tugol'wo'mi, derived from a verb meaning 
"to hunt." The districts generally sur- 
round lakes or rivers. They were trans- 
mitted from father to son, but where there 
were no sons to inherit a region it was 
allotted to someone else. Ordinarily the 
assignment of hunting districts was left to 
the authority of the band chief. 8 

The hunters of a certain region had a 
common rendezvous, generally near the 
coast where, on occasion, generally in the 
summer, they assembled with their families 
for social intercourse. At such times mar- 
riages were arranged, and meetings held 
which resulted in solidifying the group into 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOVA SCOTIA 


93 


something of a band. These bands and 
their gathering places at the present time 
have grown into the local groups which are 
found all through the province on small 
reservations. It may be added that Bear 
River seems to have been a kind of capital 
village for the bands in the southwestern 
part of the province, and Shubenacadie 
another for the central part. The bands, 
comprising the localized family groups (see 
Map I), collectively form the Micmac tribe 
or nation, the capital village of which is 
now, as it has been for a very long time, at 
Eskasoni on Cape Breton island. 9 

The family hunting districts of Nova 
Scotia with their proprietors' names appear 
in the accompanying table, the numbers in 
the first column corresponding with those 
on the map. I may say that I could 
not very well verify a large percentage 
of the districts, since this would have 
required a personal visit to each family head 
in the province. However, this was done 
where it was possible. Hence, being lim- 
ited largely to material collected from cer- 
tain informants, chief among whom were 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





94 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




John Brooks and John McEwan of Bear 
River, and Jacob Brooks of Truro, I have 
probably committed some errors, even 
though the individuals relied on were well- 
informed leaders. Moreover, the settle- 
ment of the province by the English has 
encroached on many of the old hunting dis- 
tricts, and some of the proprietors have been 
dead so long that it is a matter of question 
as to their boundaries even among the old- 
est men living. Another fact to be observed 
is that the boundaries of the family tract 
in general among the Micmac were not 
so strictly recognized as elsewhere; nor 
were they marked by boundary signs, as 
among the Penobscot. It seems to suffice 
if the main body of water or the general 
center of the hunting districts is known, the 
line of separation between neighbors being 
a general line somewhere about half-way 
between the main central landmarks. Re- 
taliation against trespassing was not regu- 
larly enforced among the Micmac. 

The Micmac country, according to An- 
derson, 10 was divided into seven districts, 
"each having its own chief, but the chief 




INDIAN NOTES 



NOVA SCOTIA 


95 


of the Cape Breton district was looked upon 
as head of the whole. From Cape Breton 
three districts stretched to the right, Pic- 
tou, Memramcook, Restigouche, and three 
to the left, Eskegawaage, from Canso to 
Halifax; Sigunikt, or Shubenacadie, named 
from Cape Chignecto; and Kaspoogwit, or 
Annapolis, named from Cape Negro." 

This author gives Rand's interpretation 
of these names in various parts of his report, 
as follows: Pictou, "an explosion, crepitus 
ventris" (p. 69); Memramcook, "variegated 
landscape" (p. 14); Restigouche, "a dead 
tree" (p. 41). This name has been ex- 
plained in a number of ways by different 
authors. One very interesting tale of expla- 
nation has been recently published by 
Father Pacifique in the Micmac Messenger, 
but, unfortunately for ethnology, it is given 
only in Micmac. Eskegawaage is "the skin- 
dressing place" (p. 27); Sigunikt, "a foot 
cloth, moccasin rag" (p. 22) ; and Kaspoogwit, 
"land's end," referring to Cape Sable and 
Cape Negro (p. 35). 

Indications appear from time to time in 
the older writings concerning the tribes of 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





96 


BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 




this part of the country to show that ani- 
mals were frequently employed as symbolic 
emblems representing different bodies of 
population. It is difficult, when we en- 
counter such references, to decide whether 
they are to be understood, from a critical 
point of view, as the emblems of former 
gentile or of family groups, or whether they 
pertain to bands and tribes in the social 
or linguistic sense. Father LeClercq made 
note of the observation that the Indians at 
Miramichi had the figure of a cross as their 
emblem, while at Restigouche the salmon 
figured in the same way. He said that each 
band had its local symbol. 11 Dr Ganong, 
who edited LeClercq's work, adds that he 
learned further that the main southwestern 
division of the Micmac had a sturgeon, the 
little southwestern division had a beaver, 
and the northwestern division of the tribe 
had the figure of a man with a drawn bow 
and arrow as distinguishing emblems. 12 

For example again, we find in the picto- 
graphy of the Wabanaki, according to Mal- 
lery, who evidently secured the information 
himself, that the Passamaquoddy are rep- 




INDIAN NOTES 



NOVA SCOTIA 



97 



resented by the figure of two men in a canoe 
following a pollock, both meir using pad- 
dles; 13 the Malecite by the two men in a 
canoe both using poles and following a 
muskrat; 14 the Micmac by the canoemen, 
both with paddles, following a deer; and 
the Penobscot by a figure showing the 
canoemen using pole and paddle following 
an otter. In giving this information Mal- 
lery adds that he thinks the several animals 
constitute ancient totemic emblems. 15 In- 
cidentally, this affords us another instance 
of the "game totem" idea which is quite 
distinctive of the northeastern region, if not 
particularly true of the Micmac. It is not by 
any means clear, drawing our ideas from this 
and other cases which have been recorded 
among the eastern tribes, how we are to 
proceed in classifying them as being the 
totemic concepts of major or of minor social 
groups. Whether we are to regard them 
as family or as tribal emblems, the general 
fact of the game-totem, or use-totem, concept 
remains established as a feature having a 
place in the social life of at least some of the 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



98 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




members of the group of tribes to which the 
Micmac belong. 16 

The Micmac have been reported by trav- 
elers a number of times as being very capa- 
ble map-makers, utilizing birch-bark for the 
purpose of charting not only travel routes 
but hunting territories as well. Concrete 
instance of this is afforded by information 
furnished by Miss Massey of Philadelphia, 
who states that in 1885 she knew of a case 
at Digby, Nova Scotia, where a chief who 
was then about sixty years of age exhibited 
a birch-bark map of his hunting territory 
during a trial in court to prove his inherited 
claim to the same. 17 A map of birch-bark 
of the land of the Micmac is mentioned as 
having been given to a hero in one of the 
legends recorded by Rand. 18 Le Clercq was 
the earliest author, so far as is known, to 
have made explicit mention of these charts 
among the Micmac. He says: 

"They have much ingenuity in drawing 
upon bark a kind of map which marks exactly 
all the rivers and streams of a country of which 
they wish to make representation. They mark 
all the places thereon exactly and so well that 




INDIAN NOTES 



NOVA SCOTIA 



99 



they make use of them successfully, and an 
Indian who possesses one makes long voyages 
without going astray." 19 




Fig. 3. — Hunting territory of Solomon Siah, Micmacof 
Bear river, Nova Scotia. (After a drawing by his grand- 
son.) 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



100 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




< 

H 

O 

< 
> 

o 
g 

!/> 

H 

W 

H 

O 

< 

o 
1 

H 
P 

w 

< 


1 

H 
in 




P 
< 

pq 

W 
> 

M 
<! 
W 
pq 


West branch of Bear river to Lake 

Jolly. 
Mulgrave lake neighborhood (see 

fig. 3). 
Around Sporting lake, southwest of 

Bear river. 
Moosehead and Pine lakes. 
Pine lake and Cofang lake. 
Long Tusket and Fourth lakes: 
Barriyo and Spruce lakes. 
Shelbourne lakes. 
East side of Rossignol lake. 
West side of Rossignol lake. 


g 

a 

Ah 

g 

W 

< 

z 
o 


Jim Meuse {Sa''yem, 
"qhief" of this band). 
John Siah (Sa' f ya) t 

Ben Pictou. 

Abram Labrador. 

Joe Penhall. 

John Barriyo. 

Christopher Charles. 

John Louis. 

Joe Maltai and father 

Old Joe Maltai. 


i-H cn CO -* iO O N x o\ 




INDIAN NOTES 



NOVA SCOTIA 


101 


en 

a 
o 

£ 

T3 

<D 

M 

44 
8 

4= 

a 

& 


sons). 
Fairy lake and Edjemekudji lake. 
South of Edjemekudji lake. 

Upper end of Liverpool lakes. 

Lower Liverpool lakes almost to 

Maitland. 
Medway lake and part of river. 

Fifth lake and part of Weymouth 


river. 
(White Sand lake, but the location 
cannot well be given.) 




"a 

<u 
X 

3 

'3 
o 
h-1 


Peter Glode. 

Frank Charles (Tcayali''- 
git, "short squatty per- 
son"). 

Jack Glode (father of 
Peter Glode, No. 11). 

Jim Glode (son of No. 13). 

Stephen Bartlett {Wisa'u, 

"yellow"). 
Jim Meuse. 


oi 

S 

JO 

m 
o 


o 


<H CN fO ■*+! lo O 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





102 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 








«J-H 












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cfl 












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rt 




u 








> 




en rt 












o • -* 








^ fc 




J* « • 








o > 




b'^9 ^ fr 




s 

H 

P 




ise lakes, 
usie lake and h 
housic river. 
La Have river. 
reek and Sand ri 
reau lakes. 




south of Windsc 
ok and Caribou 
near Chester. 
c lake below Mt 
ticook river vail 






< 


"2 J "3 g^ a 


G 
pq 


Lakes 
Ponho 
Lakes 
Uniacl 
Kennc 






w 




P4 








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FM 




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— • a, 
3 « 2 




fa 
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£2 s -. ti 








W 

a 
< 




Stephen 
— Picl 

Louis La 
Abe Hoo 
Ellick M 




Frank Pc 
Tom Phi 
John Hai 
Joe Broo 
John Fer 


o 








1* 




*-~ OO OCH 




(N rr> rf iO O 




IS 




T-H *-l rHCNCN 




nCNMCNCN 




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NDIAN I 


sOT 


ES 





NOV 


A SCOTIA 


103 


q 
z 

< 

pq 

o 

C3 
H 

= 

Q 

z 
< 

< 
< 

z 

pq 
P 
W 

c/2 


Stewiacke river valley. 

Musquodoboit river between Mid- 
dle Musquodoboit and Musquo- 
doboit. 

North of Ship Harbor lake, Gould 
lake 

North of Jcddore. 

Northeast of Jcddore. 

Grassy lake north of Killag river. 
/e belonged to Pauls.) 
Tangier lake and Scraggy lakes. 
Hunting lake, Governor's lake, and 

Ten Mile lake. 
Fifteen Mile lake, Rocky lake. 
Moser river. 
Large district north of Sheet 

harbor. 




O. 
U 

fa ,i£ 

3 c 


c 

rt 

>H 

fa 

o 

J-c 

C 
< 


Joe Cope. 

Young Toe Cope (son of 

No. 30), 
Andrew Paul 

(Territory supposed to ha" 
Sandy Cope. 
Frank Cope. 

Peter Joe Cope. 
Michael Tom (Toney). 
Young Peter Joe Cope. 


*-» 00 






J 


\ND 


MONOGRAPHS 





104 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 











O 3 




c 






<y . 




1 S 




^ 






£^ 




Rj 




0) 






x> o 




-3 -I-) 








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3 


1/3 ^ 

LI o 










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1— 1 








> 


Bi 
H 
in 

Q 


c 
o 
U 


Big Liscomb lake. 
Hunting lake and 
Lake Mooin, back 




larbor, 
h. 

e river, 




C 




Q 
Z 
< 
M 

M 

O 
B 


Q 
PQ 

o 


Country ] 
and nort 

Loon lake. 

Mill Villag 
grave. 


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CO 










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£ 


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ri 


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> 3 rH 




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Mathe\ 
Jim Pai 

Abram 
32). 




Newell 

Steve ]\ 
Peter 

breed 








2 

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1—. 




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I 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOVA SCOTIA 


105 


,j o» >> a fl 






b B« — 






harb 
m Ca 
5 fam 
eived 
imily 












4) vt-i >-c _ v 






<U OJ U 






. « £ * 






d oi 
origi 
and> 
ory, 
i the 
ia.) 




Q 


eighborhoo 
(He came 
Breton isl 
had territ 
tract frorr 
Nova Scot 




< 
pq 


525 




rt 






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Abram Gould. 






o 






rt 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





106 


BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 




In the nature of a correspondence with 
this it may be added that the same practice 
of charting territories and trails on rolls of 
birch-bark is a pronounced feature among 
the Montagnais. A number of such maps 
have been obtained by the writer for the 
Victoria Museum and the American Mu- 
seum of Natural History. 

A more precise example of one of the 
more definite hunting claims is furnished 
by the sketch on page 99 (fig. 3), which 
is a copy of a sketch-map made by John 
McEwan, of the Bear River band, showing 
the hunting territory of his maternal grand- 
father Siah (Sa''ya) around Mulgrave lake. 
There his lake and his river are shown, also 
the several stations or camps in the districts, 
marked with crosses, where he resided while 
hunting in the neighborhood. This speci- 
men district is number 2 on Map I. 20 

HUNTING TERRITORIES IN CAPE 
BRETON ISLAND 

The Micmac on the island of Cape Breton 
form now about the most conservative group 




INDIAN NOTES 



CAPE BRETON ISLAND 


107 


of this widely distributed tribe. Here, 
furthermore, is the seat of native govern- 
ment and the residence of the Grand Chief 
(ktci'sa'yamaii) who has control of all the 
Micmac bands from Newfoundland to Nova 
Scotia and Quebec. The island of Cape 
Breton is called Unama'gi 21 and the peo- 
ple style themselves U name' wax. They in- 
habit six fairly large settlements having a 
population of 604 in 1911; one, the capital of 
the Micmac, is at Eskasoni, where John 
Denys, the Grand Chief, lives; others are 
at Wycogamagh, Middle River, Malaga- 
watch, and Chapel Island respectively, 
while the last, dating back only 50 years or 
so, is in the outskirts of Sydney. This 
interesting band still preserves its national 
existence and the records of its alliance with 
the Mohawk. The former intertribal nego- 
tiations with the Iroquois at Caughnawaga 
and the ceremonial procedures with wam- 
pum are still distinctly remembered. 

According to the historical tradition of 
this band, it seems that before the middle of 
the eighteenth century the Micmac popu- 
lation of Cape Breton was inconsiderable. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





108 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




After the close of the war between France 
and England for supremacy in Canada, 
the many Micmac who had been engaged 
on the side of the French, instead of return- 
ing directly to their former homes in Nova 
Scotia and New Brunswick, turned east- 
ward and occupied new hunting territories 
in the sparsely settled island of Cape Bre- 
ton. Here, too, they felt themselves to be 
farther away from, possible vengeance of 
the English, who were settled in Nova Sco- 
tia. This movement was led by the chief, 
Tomah Denys "of Cumberland county, 
Nova Scotia, who headed the Indians under 
the French at the battle of Quebec in 1759 
and returned with them to Louisburg. 
Assuming this tradition to be fairly correct, 
as alleged by Chief John Denys, great- 
grandson of Tonah Denys, the hereditary 
successor to his office, it would appear that 
the hunting territories in the island must 
have suffered some minor alterations with 
the increase of the Micmac population sub- 
sequent to 1759. Such changes are, how- 
ever, taking place slowly all the time, as 
territories change hands oftentimes with 




INDIAN NOTES 



CAPE BRETON ISLAND 


109 


the death of proprietors. A knowledge of 
these districts through a continuous period 
of time would be very desirable to determine 
the nature of such changes as regard size 
and ownership. As may be seen by refer- 
ence to the map, the territories are more 
numerous and more compact in the southern 
portion of the island, while in the northern 
and eastern extremities the family tracts 
are more extensive in area and fewer in 
number. This condition corresponds in 
general with the conditions in Newfound- 
land; by analogy, I am inclined to attribute 
it to comparative recency of occupancy. 
This is actually the case in Newfoundland. 
It must be recognized, nevertheless, that 
the Cape Breton band has been domiciled 
long enough in the island to have localized 
some episodes in the career of the culture- 
hero, Gluskap, 22 which is apparently. not the 
case in Newfoundland. 

After this historical digression let us 
proceed with the actual data concerning 
the hunting territories of the band. In 
Cape Breton the family claims are known 
as ntwidVwr'mi. In practically all respects 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





110 


BEOTHUK 


AND 


MICMAC 










5 




W 




Q 


H 


~ 13 T3 






2 gs. 




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5a o c 


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£* I-, o 
8^ W) 




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yadji 
tie p 
re r< 
it is f 






-2 o« 




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$ b3 




^ c ^ 




W 


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ew-g'3 


F-fl 




.© 5U 




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1-9 


a*s £ a 






"3*43 5 




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3 s 


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S- 




P 

P* 












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ay and 
s channel 
n and Gra 


Si 


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8-° 




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West ba 
chann 
Cansc 


East b 
Peter' 
Salmo 
rivers. 


O 3 
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2 a 

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p. 
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well Denys 

Nu'iveli'dj, 
little Newel 


o 

5S 


3/;we.? (corr 
ion of A 
roise). 


lis Gabriel 
Ln'i'dji'dj, 
little Louis' 1 




g 


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INDIAN NOTES 



CAPE BRETON ISLAND 


111 


Sula''yadek\ "flat 
at the end of a 
gorge." 

"little channel." 

Kwundeive' gade, 
"rocky head." 

Ma'skwesa''yami- 
kek, "many little ^ 
birches." 

(?) 

(?) 

Weyo'yamaye, 
"head of the 
lake." 




Mira river and bay 
to Indian bay. 

East bay to Sydney 
river. 

Sydney harbor to 
Little Bras d'Or. 

South shore of St 
Andrew's channel. 

Iona island. 

River Denny basin 

westward. 
Wycogamagh bay to 

lake Ainslie. 


Sam Denys, Joe 
Moose, Plans- 
way Moose. 

Tomah Denys 
(family with he- 
reditary chief- 
tainship). 

John Isaac. 

Captain Francis 
Bernard. 24 

Michel Joe (Mi'sel 
da'di'aV, "smart 
Michel"). 

Dennis. 

Peter Kugu. 


«-i cm ro ^r 10 vo *-» 
to 10 in 10 id lo 10 


AND MONOGRAPHS 





112 


BEOTHUK 


AND MI CM AC 




A 

< 

g 

H 

u 

fa 
O 

O 
< 

M <V) 

w 

3 
o 

H 

W 
H 

o 

z 

H 
2 

1-1 

< 


w 

< 

>< 

H 

H 

< 

o 

1-1 


"place where red 
clay paint is 


iound. 
Ebadek\ "(river) 
dividing a hill in 
two." 

(?) 

Ktu'dnuk, "at the 
(north) moun- 
tain." 

Muy4a''yadek\ 
"gorge through 
the mountain." 


H 

u 

s 

H 
en 

P 

O 

H 

X 

3 


Lake Ainslie north 
on coast of White 
capes. 


Around Baddeck and 
Middle river. 

North river basin to 

Indian brook. 
Indian brook through 

Aspy river and 

bay. 
St Ann's mountain 

and Boularderie 

island. 


P4 

o 

e 

o 

6h 
O 

w 

a 


3 


Francis Newell. 

John Kugu. 

Charles and Ben 
Pollet. 

Common territory 
in band for fall 
berry-gathering. 


w 




On O *-i r^i 




INDIAN NOTES 



CAPE BRETON ISLAND 



113 



their general characteristics are similar 
throughout the Micmac country. There was 
no clan, no regulation of exogamy, and no 
group totemism or social significance in 
names, so far as is remembered. The 
immediate members of the families consti- 
tute the groups having inherited or pre- 
empted districts for hunting, with the ex- 
clusive right to the districts as long as any 
of the sons of the proprietors are living to 
work them. Territories may also be trans- 
mitted by loan or through partnership. A 
point of detail, however, in connection with 
the territories of the Cape Breton band is 
the local naming of the districts. This does 
not appear prominently in the other prov- 
inces. Another feature of distinction is, 
perhaps, the occurrence of several fishing 
and berry-gathering districts. 

PL xxxvii and xxxviii illustrate Micmac 
hunting camps. Several wigwams are needed 
to house the family groups; in this case 
two brothers were working together on 
their paternal territory. Owing to the scar- 
city of birch-bark, the wigwams have 
occasionally tar-paper coverings, although 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



1.14 


BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 




the aboriginal form and architecture are 
preserved PL xxxix-xli illustrate de- 
tails of wigwam construction. 

As regards the Christian names of the pro- 
prietors of the fishing and hunting dis- 
tricts, it may seem strange to find them 
so general; but this is due to early mission- 
ary influence. Indeed, as long ago as 1761, 
we find mention of Micmac chiefs in New 
Brunswick and Prince Edward island with 
French names. 23 In only a few cases do 
native nicknames still persist. 

In the table (pp. 110-112) are arranged 
the proprietors' names and nicknames, where 
they have them, their hunting districts, and 
the native local names in the Cape Breton 
dialect corresponding to the numbers on the 
map. On the map these districts are shown 
as they were marked out by the descendants 
of the proprietors themselves. The Mic- 
mac settlements are also indicated. 

HUNTING TERRITORIES IN PRINCE 
EDWARD ISLAND 

Among the Micmac of Prince Edward 
island, who are known as Ebegwi'djnax, 




INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK — BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



PL. XXXIX 







BIRCH-BARK WIGWAM OF THE CAPE BRETON MICMAC 



SPECK— BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




BIRCH-BARK WIGWAM OF THE CAPE BRETON MICMAC. 
SHOWING FEATURE OF THE HOOP AND THE INSIDE 
POLES FROM WHICH COOKING VESSELS ARE 
SUSPENDED AND CLOTHES HUNG TO DRY 



PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND 


115 


"People of the island in the sea," we en- 
counter the same characteristics as those 
found in the territorial institution of the 
tribe on the mainland. The information 
which I give was obtained by Gabe Paul, 
a Malecite-Penobscot Indian of Oldtown, 
Maine, during a special trip to this band. 
In recent years, it appears, the hunt- 
ing has been growing worse on the island, 
the natives having had to resort more and 
more to fishing. An interesting legend ac- 
counts for the disappearance of the moose 
from the region many years ago. Owing 
to the small size of the island and the 
increasing population, the moose at first 
began to diminish. Then later the Indians 
planned a great round-up, and in a short 
time killed nearly all that were left, although 
some of the older people advised against 
the procedure. Consequently the remaining 
moose, offended at the thoughtless improvi- 
dence of the Indians, departed from the 
island, never to return. Some of the hunt- 
ers claimed to have seen their footprints on 
the shore whence they made their escape by 
swimming. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





116 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 







o a 














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— 

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INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 


117 


From what can be learned about the 
methods of later years, it appears that the 
Prince Edward Island Indians had more 
communal hunting and fishing territory 
than is usual in the neighboring regions, and 
that fishing was relatively the more impor- 
tant activity. 

Only a few family districts seem now 
to be remembered. They are as shown on 
page 116 (the numbers given correspond 
with those on Map II, Newfoundland and 
Prince Edward Island). 

HUNTING TERRITORIES OF THE MICMAC- 
MONTAGNAIS OF NEWFOUNDLAND 

Since the dispersion or extermination, 
whichever it might have been, of the Beo- 
thuk or Red Indians in Newfoundland, the 
Micmac have come to occupy the southern 
and western portions of the island. Here, 
in accordance with their custom on the 
mainland, the different family heads appro- 
priated, for themselves and descendants, 
hunting districts which have continued, 
subject of course to some changes and redis- 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





118 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




tributions, since the days of the first Mic- 
mac colonization. Incidentally, Montag- 
nais hunters from Labrador, following the 
same easterly trend, have become thor- 
oughly incorporated with the Micmac, so 
that, while the language in Newfoundland 
has remained Micmac, many ethnological 
and some physical characteristics, no doubt, 
such as they appear to observation, are 
largely Montagnais. In addition we have 
to recognize the possibility that some fea- 
tures of culture may have been absorbed from 
the Beothuk at various times, especially 
during the period when they and the Mic- 
mac occupied a village in common at St 
George's bay. 

In studying the history of these Micmac- 
Montagnais, as we shall call them, in New- 
foundland, we have some opportunity of 
observing the growth and extension of their 
family territories from their first foundation 
on the southwestern coasts. Assuming in 
general that this could hardly have pre- 
ceded the arrival of the first white people 
in the seventeenth century, we can see, 
though only at a glance, through the period 




INDIAN NOTES 



SPECK— BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




INTERIOR OF WIGWAM OF CAPE BRETON MICMAC, SHOWING 
SIZE AND PLACING OF POLES __ 



NEWFOUNDLAND 



119 



of Micmac expansion and Beothuk decline, 
covering about 200 years, up to the present 

time. 

The Newfoundland Indians, numbering 
about 300 by estimate, are known both to 
themselves and to the people of the main- 
land (Cape Breton) as Taya'mkuyewa'x, 25 
" people of the land across the water," the 
island itself being known as Ta'yamkuk*. 
The Montagnais proper call the Micmac 
Aisimc'itts, "evil people." According to the 
tradition current among the Newfoundland 
Indians, the Micmac of the mainland had 
always some knowledge of the island through 
their own excursions by canoe. The route 
lay between Cape North (of Cape Breton) 
and Cape Ray on the southwestern coast of 
Newfoundland, a distance of sixty-five miles, 
land being dimly visible in fine weather. 
This bold journey was ordinarily accom- 
plished in two days, they say. On the first 
day or night, if the weather favored, the 
voyagers made St Paul's island, Tuywe'gan 
mmi"guk\ "temporary goal island," 27 a 
distance of fifteen miles. From here three 
sturdy canoemen would paddle across the 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



120 


BEOTHUK AND MI CM AC 




remaining fifty miles of Cabot strait to 
Cape Ray in Newfoundland. Landing here, 
they would await another calm night, then 
build an immense beacon fire on the high- 
lands to serve both as a signal for advance 
and a guide for direction through the night. 
At times even in summer the position of the 
highlands is apt to be marked by the white of 
snow-fields, resembling at a distance noth- 
ing more than a streak of cloud. In clear 
weather the elevated "barrens" of the New- 
foundland coast show quite plainly from 
Cape North. The strait is often calmer at 
night. In this manner they made the 
crossing, which is usually a dangerous one, 
very rough and foggy. In affirming the tes- 
timony regarding this difficult accomplish- 
ment, Frank Paul, of the St George's Bay 
band, stated that the Indians occasionally, 
even in more recent times, went across, 
using bark canoes, in this way to Cape 
Breton to participate in the celebration 
of St Ann's day, July 26th, at Chapel is- 
land, at which time takes place the Mic- 
mac national festival. 28 We may also 
conclude that the Micmac migrations to 




INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 


121 


Newfoundland were aided considerably by 
French schooners plying across the gulf 
and Cabot strait. Indeed, the great-grand- 
father of Mathew Mitchell, who was a cap- 
tain, or sub-chief, is said to have received 
a sloop as a present from the French king in 
order to facilitate the movements of the Mic- 
mac on the water in the interests of France. 
Then, as the numbers of the Micmac in- 
creased, their settlements were extended from 
the west coast to the southern coast and later 
into the interior. The first settlements 
were about St George's bay, Noywa'mkisk, 
"where the sand is blown up by the wind." 
On the south coast the Micmac located at 
Burgeo, Ma'yeme'gwik, "big fish river," 
and Asiktci'gocmuk, "on the other side of the 
land (toward the sea)," now called Connel 
river. These and other villages on the 
northern coast, settled after the withdrawal 
of the Beothuk into the interior, will be 
found marked on the accompanying map. 
In the St George's Bay region, supposedly 
near the present village of Stevensville, the 
Micmac remembers that his ancestors lived 
in at least one village in company with the 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





122 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




Beothuk, whom they term Meywe'djik, "red 
people." According to tradition, this ami- 
cable contact lasted until a quarrel occurred 
between a Micmac and a Beothuk boy over 
the killing of a tabooed animal, in which 
the Beothuk boy was killed. A fight 
promptly ensued between the two tribes on 
this account, and the Micmac drove the 
Beothuk into the interior. While we may 
recognize in this typical folktale a mere sec- 
ondary explanation of the existing historical 
facts, 29 we can safely believe that it indi- 
cates an early period of contact between the 
Micmac and the Beothuk. This belief finds 
some support in the results of a study of 
Newfoundland Micmac material culture, 
showing a number of features peculiar, to 
the island that are not attributable to the 
Micmac or to the Montagnais of the main- 
land, but which are thought, even by some of 
the Indians themselves, to have been bor- 
rowed from the Beothuk. We might infer 
this, for instance, for the Newfoundland type 
of canoe with the high-pointed middle, the 
boot-moccasins, and the habit of dyeing 
leather for articles of clothing a deep red, 




INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 


123 


as well as a few other features which I have 
treated more fully in the preceding paper. 30 
Throughout Newfoundland the Indians 
refer to their predecessors as Sa'ygwe'djki'k, 
"the ancients," speaking of them as though 
they were the first inhabitants of the is- 
land. 31 Some of the older Micmac-Mon- 
tagnais even claim that the Sa'ydwe'djki'k 
antedated the coming of the Beothuk. Ig- 
noring such testimony, I think we may con- 
clude that the term simply refers to the 
earlier Micmac colonists from the main- 
land, whose numbers were few and whose 
isolation rendered them distinct in some 
respects in culture and possibly in dialect. 
These people are believed to have been true 
Micmac and to have had a complete native 
nomenclature for the prominent places in 
the island. Some of the older Indians 
recall hearing about the last of these 
Sa'ydwe'djki'k in the person of an old blind 
woman who died in Sydney many years 
ago. Although over one-hundred years of 
age, she was conveyed in a canoe by her rela- 
tives, at her own request, over a large part 
of Newfoundland, giving the various lakes, 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





124 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



rivers, and mountains their proper names 
according to the ancient terminology. In 
an appended note I present a list of some 
of these ancient names as remembered by 
John Paul, himself an old man. They are 
typical Micmac terms. The Sa'ydwedjki'k 
families are said to have become completely 
merged with the later comers from Cape 
Breton and Labrador. 

It would be interesting if we could form 
a more definite idea as to when the Micmac 
first reached Newfoundland. In the local 
historical records we encounter mention of 
them taking part in the troubles between 
the English and the French around the 
southn and ereastern coasts. 32 Other early 
authors speak of them. Chappell, 33 an Eng- 
lishman, writing in 1818, says: 

"During our war with America between 
the years 1775 and 1782, the Micmac Indians, 
inhabiting the island of Cape Breton and the 
parts adjacent, were amongst the numbers of 
our most inveterate enemies; but at length one 
of our military commanders having concluded 
an amicable treaty with them, he selected one 
of the most sagacious of their chiefs to negotiate 
a peace. . . . The old Indian ambassador 
succeeded . . . and received as his reward 



INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 



125 



the grant of a sterile tract of land in St. Georges 
bay, Newfoundland, together with permission to 
transport as many of his countrymen as might 
be willing. . . . Accordingly the old Sachem 
left his native land, accompanied by a strong 
party . . . and boldly launching out to sea 
in their own crazy shallops or canoes, they 
eventually reached St. Georges bay in safety." 

He also presents evidence that the Mic- 
mic frequently crossed over to Labrador 
from the south shore of the Gulf of St Law- 
rence. In the same book (p. 86) Chappell 
estimates the Indians at St George's bay 
at ninety-seven. The quotation given above 
bears only, of course, on the then more 
recent Micmac arrivals, as he was not suf- 
ficiently intimate with the Indians to have 
learned very much. His information, he 
even states, was gained while being paddled 
across the river in a canoe. 

At the head of the Newfoundland band is 
a life chief, Reuben Morris, whose home is 
at Conne river. Although the Grand Chief 
at Eskasoni, Cape Breton, is higher in 
authority than the Newfoundland chief, this 
amounts to but little because the contact 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



126 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




between the two bands is necessarily loose, 
owing to the difficulty of communication. 

As regards Montagnais influences in New- 
foundland, we learn that from early colonial 
times the Labrador Indians often traversed 
the ten miles of water in summer or the ice in 
winter, which separated them from the island, 
and established temporary headquarters 
there. Early intermarriages between them 
and the Micmac were so common that more 
than half of the older Indians in Newfound- 
land today have Montagnais among their 
grandparents. 34 There are now some fam- 
ilies half Micmac and half Montagnais, be- 
sides a few true Montagnais, and to my 
knowledge, one Naskapi. I have made note 
of this in the tabular arrangement of the 
families and their hunting districts. Re- 
liable oral testimony from John Paul shows 
that twenty-five years ago (1889) a band 
of Montagnais, consisting of forty families, 
from the south coast of Labrador, crossing 
the straits of Belle Isle, settled on the north- 
west coast of the island above Bonne bay. 
They stayed there hunting beaver all win- 
ter. Incidentally, it is averred, they drew 




INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 


127 


all the beaver from that part of the country 
by leaving at their abandoned camp a split 
beaver leg bone fastened into a stick point- 
ing northward. The effect of this magical 
operation was not counteracted until old 
Tom Joe, a Naskapi who understood Lab- 
rador conjurers' methods, threw the bone 
into the fire. When it burst, the direction 
in which the splinters flew denoted where 
the beaver were to be found. 35 Montagnais 
influences in Newfoundland ethnology ap- 
pear largely in magical practices, while in 
material culture they are manifested in de- 
tails of clothing, camp paraphernalia, and 
certain types of bone implements. It 
should be added, however, that some of the 
latter might just as well be attributed to 
the Eskimo, since they are common to 
both Eskimo and Montagnais. 

Turning now to the proper subject of 
this paper, we observe at once from the map 
that the family hunting territories of the 
Newfoundland band are grouped in the 
southwestern portion of the island, leaving 
the northern and eastern tracts practically 
unappropriated. The claims situated along 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





128 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




the western and southern coasts are the 
oldest, as evidenced by the names of their 
proprietors, who, we are told, were the pion- 
eers of the Micmac migration. Farther in- 
land the districts have been more recently 
appropriated by younger hunters, who have 
pushed into the interior. Indeed some of 
these have been so lately occupied that they 
are not well known among the older hunters 
There is, moreover, some confusion in the 
boundaries of these, due to still more recent 
changes among some of the younger men 
of the Paul, John, and Beaton families, who 
have taken up claims along the line of the 
railway opened some twenty-odd years ago. 
Under these circumstances, the fact should 
be emphasized that the territorial surveys, 
as I present them on the map, represent a 
combination of old conditions with those 
prevailing at the time of my visit. Since 
matters of this kind are by no means strictly 
static, we must allow for changes. These 
remarks apply likewise to other studies and 
papers dealing with this widespread topic. 
The local unclearness of boundaries here, 
it seems to me, illustrates the conditions 




INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 


129 


which obtain on an ethnic frontier. The 
matter as a whole has, moreover, a certain 
significance in showing to what extent the 
frontier of an Indian habitat has expanded 
in, let us say, not much more than two 
hundred years of occupancy. In the last 
two generations of hunters, the tendency 
toward expansion among the Micmac-Mon- 
tagnais has apparently been quickened by 
the absence of hostile neighbors, as the 
Beothuk might have been to them had they 
survived, and, at the same time, by very 
favorable game conditions. Nowhere in the 
east are the caribou more abundant. Several 
hundred thousand of the animals migrate 
semi-annually from the northern to the 
southern barrens and afford an abundant 
meat supply to the natives. Caspar Whit- 
ney has published a very interesting bio- 
graphical study of the herd, the knowledge 
of which greatly helps us to understand local 
economic conditions. It will be seen, ac- 
cordingly, by referring to the map, that the 
more recent claims in the interior are larger 
in the vicinity of Grand, Red Indian, and 
Gander lakes and Exploits river in the ter- 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





130 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




ritories last vacated by the unfortunate 
Beothuk. 

Regarding the hunting territories in 
Newfoundland, the usual Micmac character- 
istics stand forth, there being nothing par- 
ticularly distinctive to note. The districts 
are termed ntii9ylwo''mi, "my hunting 
ground," the same as in the Cape Breton 
dialect. The families are fairly large. 
They form local groups, having more or less 
permanent headquarters in the different 
coast villages and in the hunting camps dis- 
tributed through their territories. Some of 
the families now make their headquarters 
along the line of the railroad, where they 
can obtain other work when they so desire. 
The oldest hunter of each family is com- 
monly regarded as the "boss." He directs 
the labor of the younger men, planning, 
from his knowledge of the conditions of the 
game, when and where they shall hunt. At 
his death his authority falls to the next 
most responsible elder of the family, whether 
he be his son, brother, or nephew. .It 
sometimes happens that parts of claims are 
ceded as gifts to friends from outside, as 




INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 



an inducement to become members of the 
family either by marriage or by simple 
cooperation in the hunt. For example, Joe 
Julian, chief at Sydney, Cape Breton, was 
contemplating accepting the offer made to 
him by his friend Louis John in Newfound- 
land to share part of his claim at Long 
Harbor river (No. 4 on the map), where the 
territory was too large to be properly worked 
by the present John family. As might be 
expected under the pioneer conditions ex- 
isting among the Newfoundland Indians, a 
rather weak sense of resentment prevails 
against trespass, which indeed can hardly 
be avoided occasionally, because the chase 
is concerned mainly with the caribou. On 
account of the absence of many important 
mammals from the fauna of Newfoundland, 
such as mink, sable, fisher, badger, wolver- 
ene, skunk, porcupine, raccoon, and wood- 
chuck, hunting is practically restricted to 
caribou, bears, foxes, and beavers. Sealing 
and fishing are important to the Indians 
only while they are on the coast. 

A few remarks pertaining to certain of 
the families and their territories are neces- 



131 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



132 


BEOTHUK AND 


M ICMAC 








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INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 






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AND MONOGRAPHS 



133 



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BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 









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INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 


135 


sary. Regarding the claim held in the 
family of Mathew Mitchell (No. 13), the 
small size of this tract in comparison with 
the others is to be explained by the fact 
that the old Mitchell family holds an he- 
reditary chieftaincy. On this account the 
Mitchells have the privilege of hunting al- 
most anywhere without hindrance and even 
trapping inside of other claims if the propri- 
etors themselves are not working at the 
time in the neighborhood. Consequently 
about the only place hunted continuously by 
them is around King George IV lake, as 
marked. Within the last twenty years 
Mathew Mitchell has hunted in the Bonne 
bay district, which had hitherto been unoc- 
cupied by the Micmac. Again, regarding 
territory No. 6 and 6a, held by John Paul 
in lieu of the original proprietor Andrew 
Joe's heirs, we strike a case of irregular ten- 
ure. This was the original claim of Tom 
Joe, at whose death it fell to his son Andrew 
Joe, who died leaving two sons who were 
too young to take care of themselves. Be- 
fore his death Andrew turned the children 
over to his brother-in-law, John Paul, and 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





136 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




left him a right to the territory under certain 
conditions. He told John Paul that he 
could take half of the claim for his own if he 
wished, including all the traps and camp 
property then on the grounds. He did not, 
however, leave John Paul the right to dis- 
pose of it, lest it pass out of the boys' hands 
entirely. Acquiescing in this far-sighted 
scheme, Paul left his own hereditary family 
district, took the southern half of Joe's 
claim, and now occupies it on shares with 
the two boys, who since reaching maturity 
have become his stepsons. 

In conclusion, our information, when re- 
solved to the proper perspective, leads to 
the opinion that, in continuous regions in- 
habited by branches of one tribe, the coun- 
try where the family hunting territories are 
the largest is a country more recently occu- 
pied. The proportionate magnitude of the 
Newfoundland family claims is shown in 
the average of two thousand square miles 
to each, while in Cape Breton this average 
gives but four hundred square miles, and 
in Nova Scotia only about two hundred 
square miles to each family. Hence Nova 




INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 


137 


Scotia was doubtless the center of distribu- 
tion of the southern and eastern Micmac, 
whose trend of migration has been con- 
tinuously eastward. This is also conclusive 
from historical sources and also from eth- 
nological considerations — rather satisfactory 
coincidences. I hope soon to try to deter- 
mine the relative standing of the New 
Brunswick bands. After that the next 
problem to be considered is the relationship 
of the Micmac as a whole to the similarly 
distributed Montagnais north of the St 
Lawrence. 

We also have information on the number 
and location of the Newfoundland Micmac 
from another recent source. Mr R. S. 
Dahl, in a letter to the writer dated June 6, 
1912, from Placentia bay, Newfoundland, 
gives the following list of Micmac settle- 
ments and Micmac hunters which he ob- 
tained from Mr Howley. The settlements 
are: Conne River, Bay d'Espoir, about 125 
souls; Bay St George; Codroy, one family; 
Bonne Bay; Hall's Bay; Gambo; Glen wood; 
and Port Blandford. In addition Mr Dahl 
gives a more complete list of the men in- 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





138 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




habiting the Bay d'Espoir settlement. I 
may say that among these names are evi- 
dently those of some transients, recent ar- 
rivals, or of mixed-bloods, except for which 
the majority correspond closely with the 
enumeration of the older families as previ- 
ously given. The names are: Frank Joe, 
Little Frank Benoit, Paul Benoit, Frank 
Benoit,, John Benoit, Johnny Benoit, Ben 
Benoit, Xed Pullet, Noel Louis, Frank 
McDonald, Noel Mathews, Martin and 
Michael Mathews, Noel Jeddore, Joe and 
Nicholas Jeddore, John Bernard, Stephen 
Bernard, John Stride, Reuben Lewis (chief), 
Peter and Micky John, John John 2d, Lewis 
John, John and Paddy Hinx,Mathew Burke, 
Len Joe, Ben Paul, Abraham Paul, Noel 
Paul, Matty Michel and son. 

ANCIENT PLACE-NAMES IN 
NEWFOUNDLAND 

On the Southwestern Coast: 

Noywa'mkisk, "place where the sand is blown 

up," inner St George's bay. 
KwessW9 / mkia, "sandy, point," St George's 
bay. 




INDIAN NOTES 



NEWFOUNDLAND 



139 



Nudjo''yan "eel spearing place (?)," inside 
Sandy point. 

Meskr'gtnwi'ddn, "big channel," Stevens- 
ville, St George's bay. 

Ma'xtdgwek, "mouth of the river," Little 
river, on south coast. 

M^ski'gixi''gantc, "grass wigwam," coast be- 
tween Burgeo and La Poile. 

Ma'yBme'gwik, "big fish river" (also given as 
"big swelling") (?). 

In the Interior: 

Ani''apskwa'tc, "rocky mountains," south of 
Red Indian lake. 

Meywe'djewa'gi, "red Indian country," Red 
Indian lake. 

Mi 'Ipe'g, "many bays," Meelpaeg lake. 

Meywe'za'xsit, "red-faced person," Hodge's 
mountain, northeast of Badger's brook. A 
local legend says that here was the last 
place where a Beothuk was seen. 

Kespude'kJici xy' 'spent, "last lake," at head 
of Harry's river. 

Eb dgwu'nbe'g, "low bay lake," just east of 
Meelpaeg. 

dnudjibu' , dji'tc, "Indian brook," east of 
Crooked lake. 

Medani''ganik, "village half way," lake above 
Belle bay (Meddonnegonnix). 

Xaxsxae''gadi, "place of boards" (?), east of 
the last. 

Kwe''gudek\ "on the top," above Meddonne- 
gonnix. 

Wendji''gwqemdji'tc, "little house," Wejegun- 
jeesh lake. 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



140 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




Maligwe''djik, "low growth place," Molly- 
gwajek lake on Terra Nova river. 

Kepa'mkek, "sand-bar across channel," head 
of Terra Nova river. 

As might well be expected, some of these 
names are of frequent occurrence in Micmac 
toponomy. For instance, the third in the 
above list, nudjo'idn, is given for two other 
places in Rand's list of Micmac place- 
names, 37 St Mary's bay in the St Lawrence, 
and Chegogun harbor, near St Mary's bay. 
No meaning, however, is assigned to it by 
Rand. The seventh term, ma'ydme gwik, is 
also the name of St Croix river, New Bruns- 
wick (ibid., p. 43), and is given the same 
meaning as in Newfoundland. The sixth 
name in the list of interior place-names, 
eb'dgwunbe'g, is recorded for Abegunbek 
somewhere in Micmac territory (ibid., p. 12), 
which Rand renders "a bending bay," and 
the last two in the list above show recurrence 
in Malegawaachk (maligewe ' tck) , a lake in 
Ship harbor, Nova Scotia, and Kebamkeak, 
the name of Bathurst harbor and Bathurst, 
New Brunswick (ibid., p. 32), with the 
same meaning as in Newfoundland. 




INDIAN NOTES 



CORMACK 



141 



Appendix 
i—cormack's observations 
Mr Howley, in his recent monograph on 
the Beothuk of Newfoundland, 38 does eth- 
nology a distinct service by giving in full 
the journal of William E. Cormack, a phi- 
lanthropic gentleman who, in 1822, under- 
took a trip in company with a Micmac In- 
dian across the island in an endeavor to find 
some traces of the Beothuk. Cormack's 
work is entitled, "Narrative of a Journey 
Across the Island of Newfoundland in 1822." 
The author had something to say of the 
Micmac-Montagnais, whom he encountered 
in the interior, and his observations are 
decidedly worth quoting here to show how 
little the conditions of life among the Mic- 
mac and Montagnais have changed since 

then. 

About half-way across the island Cormack 
and his guide, a Micmac named Joseph Syl- 
vester, came upon the camp of a Mountain- 
eer (Montagnais) from Labrador— 

-who could speak a little of the Micmac 
language, his wife being a Micmac. . . - 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



142 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



He told us that he had come to Newfoundland, 
hearing that it was a better hunting country 
than his own, and that he was now on his way 
hunting from St. Georges Bay to the Bay of 
Despair to spend the winter with the Indians 
there. He had left St. Georges Bay two months 
and expected to be at the Bay of Despair in 
two weeks hence. This was his second year in 
Newfoundland." 39 ^ ^ 

He had his hunting ground at Meelpegh 
lake, a body of water about nine or ten 
miles long. ^ J^ ,. , 

"The Red Indians' country, or the waters 
which they frequented, we were told by the 
mountaineer, lay six or seven miles to the north 
of us, but at this season of the year these people 
were likely to be farther to the northward at 
the Great Lake of the Red Indians (Red Indian 
Lake); also that about two weeks before there 
was a party of Micmack hunting at the next 
large lake to the westward, about two days 
walk from us. He also described the nature of 
the country and made drawings upon sheets of 
birch rind of the lakes, rivers, mountains and 
woods that lay in the best route to St. Georges 
harbor." 40 



This Mountaineer was named James 
John. 41 A few days later Cormack met 
another band of hunters. 



INDIAN NOTES 



CORMACK 



143 



"They were Micmacks and natives of New- 
foundland and expressed themselves glad to see 
me in the middle of their country as the first 
white man who had ever been here. They told 
us that we might reach St. Georges Bay in about 
ten days for they had left that place in the 
middle of summer and had since been hunting in 
the western interior . . . and that they 
intended in a few weeks to repair to White Bear 
Bay to spend the winter. . . . Here were 
three families amounting to thirteen persons in 
number. ... In the woods around the 
margin of this lake the Indians had lines of path 
equal to eight or ten miles in extent, set with 
wooden traps or dead-falls. . . . The Red 
Indian country we were told was about ten or 
fifteen miles northward of us. . . . All the 
Indians in the island, exclusive of the Red 
Indians, amount to nearly 150, dispersed in 
bands commonly at the following places or dis- 
tricts: St. Georges Harbour and Great Cod Roy 
river on the west coast; White Bear Bay, and the 
Bay of Despair on the south coast; Clode Sound 
in Bona vista Bay on the east; Ganda Bay on the 
north coast, and occasionally at Bonne Bay and 
the Bay of Islands on the northwest coast. 
They are composed of Mickmacks, joined by 
some of the mountaineer tribes from the Labra- 
dor and a few of the Abenakies from Canada. 
There are twenty-seven or twenty-eight families 
altogether, averaging five to each family and 
five or six single men. They all follow the same 
mode of life — hunting in the interior from the 
middle of summer to the beginning of winter in 
single families, or in two or three families to- 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



144 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



gether. They go from lake to lake hunting all 
over the country around one, before they pro- 
ceed to the next. ... A great division of 
the interior of Newfoundland is exclusively pos- 
sessed and hunted over by Red Indians and is 
considered as their territory by the others. In 
former times, when the several tribes were 
upon an equality in respect of weapons, the Red 
Indians were considered invincible and fre- 
quently waged war upon the rest, until the lat- 
ter got fire-arms put into their hands by the 
Europeans. . . . The tribes exclusive of 
the Red Indians have no chief in Newfoundland, 
but there are several individuals at St. Georges 
Hay to whom they all pay a deference. The 
Mickmacks although most of them born in this 
island consider Cape Breton, where the chiefs 
reside, as their headquarters. Their several 
tribes intermarry. . . .^ One of the Mick- 
macks of this party named Paul, boasted of 
maternal descent from a French governor of 
Prince Edward Islands." 

Further, Cormack says that ten days 
later he had the satisfaction of again en- 
countering a camp of Micmac at what he 
inferred was the head of Little river, dis- 
charging from a lake which he names Wil- 
son's lake. 

"They were a party of Mickmack Indians. 
. . . Only one man belonged to this en- 
campment. . . . This small party consisted 
of eight individuals, one man, four women and 



INDIAN NOTES 



GLUSKAP 



145 



three children, one an infant . _ . . This 
Indian's name he told me was Gabriel. - 

A few days later Cormack reached St 
George's harbor, where he found shelter in 
the house of an Indian named Emanuel 
Gontgont. 44 These notes and the mention 
of family names with his estimates of popu- 
lation speak for themselves in comparison 
with what has been already presented. 

II ABSTRACT OF THE GLUSKAP 

TRANSFORMER MYTH 

The importance of geographical sites in a 
territorial study of this nature warrants the 
presentation of the following myth and 
landmarks, the locations of which are indi- 
cated by letters on the map of Cape Breton 
island. Each band of the Micmac seems 
inclined to localize the Gluskap myth, a 
comparative study of the versions of which 
will later prove interesting. (For this and 
other myths of the Cape Breton band the 
reader is referred to Journal of American 
Folk-lore, vol. xxvm, no. cvn, Jan-March, 
1915, pp. 59-69.) 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



146 


BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 




Gluskap's Joukney 

(The Cape Breton Local Version. Related by 
Chief John Joe of Wycogamagh) 

Gluskap was the god of the Micmac. 
The great deity, Ktc'mi'sxam, made him out 
of earth and then breathed on him. This 
was at Cape North (Kte'dnuk, "at the 
(north) mountain") (A), Cape Breton, on 
the eastern side. Gluskap's home was at 
Fairy Holes {Gluska'be wi'guo'm, " Gluskap's 
wigwam") (B). 45 Just in front of the caves 
at this headland are three little islands in a 
straight line, known as Ciboux islands (C) : 
these are the remains of Gluskap's canoe, 
where he left it when it was broken. At 
Plaster cove (Two'butc, "Looking out") 
(D), two girls saw his canoe broken into 
three pieces, and they laughed, making fun 
of Gluskap. At this he told them that they 
would remain forever where they are; and 
today there are two rocks at Plaster cove 
which are the remains of these girls. Next,' 
a little farther north, at Wreck cove (E), 
Gluskap jumped from his canoe when it 
foundered, lifting his moose-skin canoe-mat 
out, and left it on the shore to dry. There 




INDIAN NOTES 



GLUSKAP 


147 


is still to be seen a space of about fifteen 
acres of bare ground where the mat lay. 
Then he went to Table Hea.d(Padalo"di' tck) 
(F), on the south side of Great Bras d'Or. 
Here he had his dinner. Next he struck 
into Bras d'Or lake straight to Wycogamagh 
(G), on the western end, where at Indian 
island (Wi'sik, "Cabin"), he started a 
beaver and drove him out, following Bras 
d'Or lake to St Patrick's bay (H). At Mid- 
dle river he killed a young beaver, whose 
bones are still to be seen there. Then Glus- 
kap followed the beaver until he lost track 
of him for a while. He stood at Wi''sik 
(Indian island), and took a piece of rock 
and threw toward the place where he thought 
the beaver was. This rock is now Red 
island (Pauydnukte' gan) (I). This started 
the beaver up, and he ran back through St 
Peter's channel and burrowed through un- 
derneath, which is the cause of the crooks 
and windings there now. Then the chase 
continued outside in the ocean, when the 
beaver struck out for the Bay of Fundy. 
Here at Pli'gank ("Split place"), Split 
point, Gluskap dug out a channel with his 


• 


AND MONOGRAPHS 





148 


BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 




paddle, forming Minas basin, Nova Scotia. 46 
There he killed the beaver. Near here is a 
small island, which is the pot in which he 
cooked the beaver; another rock, near Pot 
Rock, is Gluskap's dog left behind at this 
time. Turtle (Mi'ktcik) was Gluskap's 
uncle. Here with his pot and dog he turned 
Turtle into a rock, and left them all there. 
Near where he killed the beaver are still to 
be seen the bones turned to rock. When he 
broke the channel in Minas basin to drain 
the water out, in order to uncover the 
beaver, he left it so that today the water 
all drains out at each tide, hence the Bay of 
Fundy tides. Then he crossed over east- 
ward and came out at Pictou. While 
there he taught the Micmac how to make 
all their implements for hunting and fishing 
— bows, arrows, canoes, and the like. After 
a while he prepared to leave, and told the 
Indians: "I am going to leave you. I am 
going to a place where I can never be 
reached by a white man." Then. he prophe- 
sied the coming of the Europeans and the 
baptism of the Micmac. Then he called his 
grandmother from Pictou, and a young man 




INDIAN NOTES 



NOTES 



for his nephew, and departed, going to the 
other side of the North Pole with them. 
Again he said, " From now on, if there should 
ever be a war between you and any other 
people, I shall be back to help you." He is 
there now, busy making bows, arrows, and 
weapons in preparation for some day when 
the white man may assail the Micmac. 

NOTES 

1. R. H. Lowie, Primitive Society, New York, 

1920. 

2. There is nothing, so far as I am prepared 

as yet to say ; in the somewhat classifica- 
tory kinship system of the tribe, to indi- 
cate necessarily exogamy or anything 
more complex than the loose family kin- 
ship formation which prevails today. 

3. Father Chrestien Le Clercq, New Relation of 

Gaspasia .... Paris, 1691, reprinted in 
Publications of the Champlain Society, by 
W. F. Ganong Toronto, . . . 1910, p. 237 
(original edition, p. 385). 

4. Ibid., p. 235 (original edition, p. 380). 

5. Ibid., p. 151. 

6. Nicholas Denys, The Description and Nat- 

ural History of the Coasts of North 
America . ." . Paris, 1672, reprinted in 
Publications of the Champlain Society, by 
W. F. Ganong, Toronto, 1908, p. 426. 

7. Le Clercq, op. cit., p. 235. 



149 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



150 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



8. This practice is confirmed by Le Clercq (op. 

cit., p. 235): "The occupation of this 
chief was to assign the places for hunting 
(de regler les lieux de chasse)." 

9. S. T. Rand asserts that the chief of the Cape 

Breton band was regarded as the head of 
the whole Micmac nation. (Cf. Micmac 
Place-names in the Maritime Provinces 
and Gaspe Peninsula, Recorded between 
1852 and 1890 by Rev. S. T. Rand, col- 
lected and arranged by Lieut-Col. Wm, 
P. Anderson, Geographic Board of Canada, 
Ottawa, 1919, p. 45.) Rand gave the 
meaning of "Green boughs" to the name 
Eskasongnik (ibid., p. 27). 

10. Anderson, idem., p. 45, note. 

11. Le Clercq, op. cit., pp. 35, 38. 

12. Ibid., p. 39, note. 

13. By an acceptable interpretation the name 

Passamacfuoddy means "Those whose 
occupation is pollock fishing." 

14. The Malecite enjoy the sobriquet of "Musk- 

rats" among the Wabanaki, especially 
among those of St Francis, and the 
Micmac. 

15. G. Mallery, Picture-writing of the Ameri- 

can Indians, Tenth Annual Report of the 
Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 378-379. 

16. Compare Speck, Game Totems Among the 

Northeastern Algonkians, American An- 
thropologist, n.s., vol. 19, no. 1, 1917. 

17. J. V. Mays, Assistant Secretary of the Geo- 

graphical Society of Philadelphia, corre- 
spondence with the writer, Jan. 24, 1916. 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOTES 



151 



18. S. T. Rand, Legends of the Micmacs, 1894, 

Tale 21, p. 170. 

19. Le Clercq, op. cit., p. 136 (in original edi- 

tion, p. 153). 

20. Since my talk with him, McEwan himself 

has written a short but interesting ac- 
count of his early boyhood in which he 
speaks of being his uncle's hunting part- 
ner. Their camps were then on Smith's 
and Dish lakes. (Cf. Nova Scotia 
Guide's Prize Story, by John McEwan, 
Forest and Stream, October 1917, p. 466.) 

21. This is an interesting name. It is regarded 

on good authority as a variation of 
Mi'gama''gi, "Land of the Micmac" (cf. 
Micmac Place-names, op. cit., p. 61). 

22. In Appendix II of this paper is given an ab- 

stract of the Cape Breton version of the 
travels of Gluskap (cf. F. G. Speck, Some 
M icmac Tales from Cape Breton Island, 
J ournal oj American Folk-lore, vol. xxviii, 
no. 107, 1915, pp. 59-69). 

23. A captain is a sub-chief. 

24. A Narrative of an Extraordinary Escape out 

of the Hands of the Indians in the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence, by Gamaliel Smethurst, 
London, 1774, reprinted by W. F. Ga- 
nong, Collections of the New Brunswick 
Historical Society, vol. 2, 1905, p. 380. 

25. Through the kindness of Mr J. Robert 

Mutch, of Mount Herbert, P. E. ?., this 
section of my paper was conveyed to the 
hands of Chief John Sark himself for re- 
vision after its completion. Mr Mutch 
reports Chief Sark as desiring to correct 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



152 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



the statement about his being hereditary 
chief of the Prince Edward Island band. 
"Chief Sark's father, the late Chief 
Thomas Sark, died when Chief John Sark 
was a small boy, so the Micmacs elected 
Peter Bernard as acting chief until John 
was old enough to hold that office. 
Peter Bernard died before many years, 
and the Micmacs elected Joe Francis as 
acting chief. When John Sark became 
of the necessary age to hold the office of 
chief, Joe Francis would not resign. Mr 
James Yeo, M. P. P., had Joe Francis 
swo n in as 'Chief of Prince Edward 
Island Micmac Indians' before a Justice 
of the Peace, and had the papers sent to 
Ottawa. Another Indian belonging to 
the tribal council objected to Mr Francis 
being the chief for life and sent a protest 
to the Department of Indian Affairs at 
Ottawa, and they declared a general elec- 
tion to take place in 1897. Mr Sark was 
elected chief in that election, and the 
Department declared that hereafter an 
election must be held every three years. 
So that, while John Sark has been elected 
chief by acclamation at every election 
with the exception of one since 1897, he 
is not the hereditary chief, but holds the 
^office by election." (Correspondence of 
Mr Mutch, May 10, 1920.) 
26. In Micmac the character y denotes the velar 
voiced spirant and x the corresponding 
voiceless consonant. Ordinarily, too, 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOTES 



153 



both g and k are pronounced somewhat 
posteriorly. 

27. Tnywe''gan is explained as a place in some 

expanse which those who are crossing 
make for without knowing whether they 
will succeed; in short, an expected goal. 

28. Another sea voyage of no little consequence 

which the Micmac were formerly accus- 
tomed to make was the trip from Cape 
North, Cape Breton, to the Magdalen 
islands, lying in the Gulf of St Lawrence 
about sixty miles to the northwest. The 
Magdalens derive their name from a 
Micmac woman who, according to a 
legend, was abandoned there. By means 
of fish and gulls' eggs she subsisted until 
her folks returned. I have recorded also 
a somewhat similar tale from the Male- 
cite. While the theme of this story itself 
is an old native one, its particular appli- 
cation in this case is modern, a fact be- 
trayed by the European name of the 
heroine. In an interesting and thorough 
discussion of the history and formation 
of the Magdalen group, J. M. Clarke 
quotes a passage from Breard {Journal du 
Corsaire Jean Doublet de Honfleur, 1883), 
explaining how the islands were named 
after Madeleine, the wife of Francois 
Doublet, of Honfleur, who visited the 
islands and attempted to colonize them 
in 1663 (Bulletin New York State Museum, 
no. 149, Report of the Director, 1910; 
Observations on the Magdalen Islands, by 
J. M. Clarke, p. 139). An earlier notice 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



154 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



indicates that Indians were found among 
the inhabitants as far back as 1593 (ibid., 
p. 138). That the Indians also had con- 
cern with the Magdalens in 1721 is shown 
in a letter to Father Rasles written by 
M. de Vaudreuil (Jesuit Relations, 
Thwaites edition, vol. 67, p. 63-65). In 
this connection it may be added that 
several remarkable feats of navigation 
are claimed to have been accomplished by 
members of the Yarmouth band. Abram 
Toney, the late chief, is alleged to have 
been forced to pass a night on the whist- 
ling buoy twenty-one miles from Yar- 
mouth, northwest, when overtaken by a 
sudden storm. Such things happen when 
the Indians are outside hunting por- 
poises. The same adventurer is said to 
have made the trip by canoe to Grand 
Manaan. Another Micmac with his 
wife and child is said to have crossed 
from Digby to St Johns, X. 11. 

29. A similar tale is recorded by Rand (Leg- 

ends of the Micmacs, p. 200) to account 
for a war between the Micmac and the 
Iroquois. Cf. also J. D. Prince, Passa- 
maquoddy Documents, Annals of the 
New York Academy of Sciences, vol. xi, 
no. 15, 1898, pp. 371-372. 

30. See, part I of this volume: Studies of the 

Beothuk and Micmac of Xewfoundland, 
p. 45 and table of comparisons. 

31. Rand (Legends of the Micmacs, pp. 408, 

432), also refers several times to the 



INDIAN NOTES 



NOTES 



155 



" Sagawachkik" as "the ancients" figur- 
ing in Micmac tradition. 

32. We also know that in 1765 Governor Pal- 
liser undertook measures to suppress 
Micmac migration from Cape Breton to 
Newfound and, on account of the increase 
of these Indians along the southwestern 
coast of the island. (Cf. Chas. Pedley, 
Eistory of Newfoundland, London, 1863, 
p. 121.) 

S3. Lieutenant Edward Chappell, R. N., Voy- 
age of his Majesty's Ship Rosamond to 
Newfoundland and the Coast of Labrador, 
London, 1818, pp. 76-77. 

34. Cormack, an explorer who crossed the 

island in 1822, mentions encountering an 
old Montagnais named James John (cf. 
p. 132, family no. 4), who was married to a 
Micmac woman in the interior. Later, 
in^ 1828, Cormack had a Montagnais, a 
Micmac, and an Abnaki with him as 
guides in his quest of Beothuk survivors. 

35. Since then I was told some Montagnais once 

again attempted to lodge in Newfound- 
land, but the band was expelled by the 
authorities in order to protect the beaver. 

36. Several Indian families trace descent from 

individuals said to have belonged to a 
tribe called Ksn'i''bewa'tc, living far to 
the west. _ Among the Micmac in general 
the term is applied to the Penobscot and 
the St Francis Abnaki. While the Mic- 
mac do not analyze it so, the term is 
evidently "Long River people" a syno- 
nym for the Kennebec (Kwim'i"'bek'™), 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



156 



BEOTHUK AND MIC MAC 



3S 



River tribe of Maine, Penobscot or St 
Francis Abnaki. 

William P. Anderson, Micmac Place Names, 
Recorded by S. T. Rand, Ottawa, 1919, 
p. 60. 

J. P. Howley, The Beothucks or Red In- 
dians, the Aboriginal Inhabitants of New- 
foundland, Cambridge University Press, 
1915, pp. 130-168. 

39. Ibid., p. 148. 

40. Ibid., p. 149. 

41. Ibid., p. 150. 

42. Ibid., pp. 151-152. 

43. Ibid., p. 157. 

44. Ibid., p. 159. 

45. This is now known as Fairy Holes, between 

St Ann's bay and Great Bras d'Or. The 
Micmac tell how, sixty-eight years ago, 
five Indians — Joe Bernard, Francis Ber- 
nard, Clement Bernard, Joe Newell, and 
Tom Newell — entered the caves which 
honeycomb this headland, carrying seven 
torches. They walked as far as the 
torches would light them, about a mile 
and a half, found eight brooks in the 
caves, and when they came out discov- 
ered how a rock three hundred feet wide 
had moved since they had entered! The 
Indians naturally regard these caves as 
very mysterious. 

46. The scene of the myth becomes changed to 

Nova Scotia, where the localities of the 
actions correspond more closely with 
those in the version of the Nova Scotia 
bands recorded by Rand. 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 

Abnaki, emigration of, to Newfoundland, 143; 
guide of Cormack, 155; hunting territory 
among, 86. See St Francis Abnaki; Wabanaki 

Aisi'me''ut.s, Montagnais term for Micmac, 119 

Alder-bark, pigments from, 34, 36-37 

Algonkian, Beothuk culture related to, 31-33, 
48, 69-70, 75; Beothuk descent from, 13-15; 
Beothuk words resembling, 76; charms char- 
acteristic of, 43; hunting territory among, 71, 
83-84, 86-87, 91 

Alliance of Micmac, with French, 124; with 
Mohawk, 107 

Ancestry, animal, of Penobscot, 85, 87. See 
To tern ism 

Anderson, Wm. P., Micmac Place-names, cited, 
94, 140, 150, 156 

Animals, figure4 on coats, 34; killing of, among 
Micmac, 89; tabooed, killing of, 122; totemic 
significance of, 85, 87, 95-98 

Annapolis, Nova Scotia, comprised in Micmac 
chieftaincy, 95 

Annual ceremony, of Beothuk, 62-64; of Mic- 
mac, 120 

Anthropological Survey of Canada, ethnological 
collection gathered for, 19 

Antler, caribou, on Beothuk sites, 21; cracked, 
on Beothuk site, 22; harpoon-heads, Mic- 



INDIAN NOTES 



157 



158 



BEOTHUKAND M ICMAC 



mac-Montagnais, 40; implements, Algonkian, 
44. See Caribou-antler 

Arctic zones, social life of tribes of, 84 

Arrow, Beothuk sacrifice of, 62; in totemic 
emblem, 96; arrows (Micmac.), art of , taught 
by Gluskap, 148 

Asiklci'gamuk, Newfoundland, Micmac settle- 
ment of, 121 

Athabascan affinity with Beothuk, 71-72 

Atllcboro, Mass., Santu at, 58, 79 

Awl, bone, Beothuk, 60; bone, Micmac-Mon- 
tagnais, 39; iron, on Beothuk site, 21 

Axes, iron, on Beothuk sites, 22 

Bachofen, theories of, on social evolution, 84 
Badger, absent from Newfoundland, 131 
Badger's Brook, Beothuk remains at, 40, 48; 

Beothuk site, 20; Beothuk tradition from. 53; 

hunting charm at, 43; John Paul of, 27 
Badger's brook, wigwam-pits along, 24-25 
Bags, among Micmac-Montagnais,- 39 
Band, Indian, at Oldtown, Me., 115; bands 

among Micmac, 92-93; Micmac, listed by 

Cormack, 143-144; totemic emblems of, 

95-98. See Gens 
Bands, metal, on Beothuk sites, 21 
Bank's pine, non-edible rind of, 77 
Bark, canoes, Beothuk, 32-33, 43; receptacles, 

Beothuk, 76; superstructure of winter 

wigwams, 31-32, 73-74. See Birch-bark 
Basketry, see Splint basketry 
Baskets, Micmac-Montagnais, mainland origin 

of, 41 
Bathurst, Micmac name for, 140 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



159 



Bay d'Espoir, Micmac band at, 137-138, 143; 
Montagnais wintering on, 142 

Bay of Despair, see Bay d'Espoir 

Bay of Fundy, tides of, created by Gluskap, 
147-148 

Bay of Islands, Micmac band at, 143 

Bay St George, see St George's bay 

Beacon fires, on Cape North, 120; on Cape 
Ray, 26 

Beadwork, colored designs in place of, 39 

Bear, hunting of, in Newfoundland, 131 

Bear River, a village of the Micmac, 93, 94 

Bear River band, hunting territory of, 106 

Bear-skin, wool from, 37 

Beaton family, hunting territories of, 128 

Beaton, William, on robbery committed by 
Beothuk, 53 

Beaver, chase of, by Gluskap, 147-148; harpoons 
for spearing, Micmac-Montagnais, 40; hunt- 
ing of, in Newfoundland, 131; Newfoundland 
legend concerning, 126-127 

Beaver-skin, Beothuk clothing lined with, 43; 
wool from, 37 

Beheading of enemies among Beothuk, 50, 54 

Belle Isle, see Straits of Belle Isle 

Belts, Micmac, weaving of, 37-38 

Benoit family, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 

Beothuk, or Red Indians, affinity of, with Atha- 
bascan, 71-72; Algonkian descent of, 13-15; 
annual ceremony of, 62-64; Buchan's expedi- 
tion to capture, 49-50; Cormack's researches 
among, 141-145; culture, origin of, 44-46, 
69-70; culture, survivals from, among Mic- 
mac-Montagnais, 29-30, 32-33, 36, 38, 43-46, 
60, 74-76, 118, 122-123; descendants of, 66; 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



160 



BEOTHUKAND MICMAC 



extermination of, 12, 54, 117-119, 121; food 
of, 61-62; Gatschet on, 44-45; hair remover, 
40; in relation to hunting territories, 129-130; 
last survivors of, 139; marriage of, with other 
tribes, 65; paucity of information on, 11-12; 
Santu descendant of, 55-60, 67-69; sites of, 
12, 20, 24-25, 40, 48; smoking among, 41; 
traditions concerning, 15-19, 25-29, 43, 46- 
54; vocabulary, 66-67, 76; winter wigwams 
of, 31-32, 73-74 

Bernard family, at Bay d'Espoir, 138; Fairy 
Holes visited by members of, 156 

Bernard, Peter, former chief of Prince Edward 
Island band, 152 

Berry-gathering districts on Cape Breton island, 
113 

Birch, edible rind of, 45, 77 

Birch-bark, maps, Micmac, 98-99, 142; pipe, 
Micmac-Montagnais, 41; receptacles, Algon- 
kian, 43; wigwams, 30-31, 113 

Black pigment, 34 

Black weasel, legend concerning, 28-29 

Blanket, gambling-game played on, 63, 80 

Blocks, hair dressed over, 35 

Blueberries, pigments from, 34 

Blue pigment, 34 

Bodies, dyeing of, Beothuk, 15, 17, 43, 51, 
63-64, 73 

Bonavista bay, Micmac band on, 143 

Bone, awls, Beothuk, 60; dehairer, Beothuk, 
24-25; implements, characteristic Algonkian, 
44; implements, Montagnais, 127; snowshoe 
needles, Micmac-Montagnais, 39; bones, ani- 
mal, on Beothuk sites, 21-22; transformed to 
rock by Gluskap, 146-148 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 


161 


Bone-crackers, stone, on Beothuk sites, 24 
Bonne Bay, Micmac band at, 143; Micmac 

settlement at, 137; Mitchell hunting on, 135; 

Montagnais settlements north of, 126-127 
Bonny castle, R. H., Newfoundland in 1842, 

cited, 77 
Boot-moccasin, Beothuk, 36, 122; Micmac term 

For, 74. 
Boots, Beothuk, 43, 51; Beothuk influence on, 

35-37 
Boundaries of hunting territories, 94. See 

Crosses 
Bow and arrow, caribou killed with, 61-62; in 

totemic emblem, 96; bows, art of, taught by 

Gluskap, 148 
Bras d'Or lake, Gluskap's passage through, 147 
Breard, cited, 153 

Brooks, John, acknowledgment to, 94 
Brown pigment, 34 

Buchan's expedition, account of, 49-50, 77-78 
Burgeo, first Micmac settlements at, 27 
Burial of Mary March, 78; burials, red ocher in 

pre-Algonkian, 13 
Burke, Mathew, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 

Cabot strait, crossing of, by Micmac, 120-121 
Camp, Beothuk, at Red Indian point, 49; 

Beothuk, on Hodge's mountain, 48; Beothuk, 

on voyage, 61; camps, Micmac, on Cape 

Breton, 113-114 
Camp-sites, Beothuk, on Red Indian lake, 20- 

22, 46-47 
Canada, Beothuk sites in, 12; migration of 

Abnaki from, 143; Santu in, 59 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





162 



BEOTHUKAND MICM A C 



Canoe, Gluskap's, 146; in totemic emblem, 97; 
voyages by, 26, 28, 119-125, 154; canoes, 
Beothuk, 13, 32-33, 43, 44, 60-61, 74, 122; 
Beothuk and Micmac, meeting of, 51-52; 
Micmac, art of, taught by Gluskap, 148 
Canoe-mat, Gluskap's, 146-147 
Canso, comprised in Micmac chieftaincy, 95 
Cape Breton, dialect of, 37 
Cape Breton island, Gluskap myth of, 145-149; 
Micmac: chiefs of, 131, 144, 150; chieftaincy 
of, 94-95, 106-107, 125-126, 144, 150; dice- 
and-bowl game in, 80; hunting territories 
in, 86-87, 106-114, 130, 136; voyagers from, 
25-27, 119, 124-125, 155 
Cape Chignecto, in Micmac chieftaincy, 95 
Cape Negro, chieftaincy named from, 95 
Cape North, Gluskap created at, 146; Micmac 

voyagers from, 26-27, 119-120 
Cape Ray, Micmac voyages to, 26-27, 119-120 
Cape Sable, chieftaincy named from, 95 
Capote, distinctively Micmac, 34. Pee Coats 
Caps, edged with colored designs, 38-39; peaked, 

of women, 35 
Capture of Beothuk, see Extermination 
Caribou, abundance of, in Newfoundland, 129; 
calf-skin coats of, Micmac-Montagnais, 35; 
fences, Beothuk, 19-20; fences in Labrador, 
73; food of Beothuk, 61-62; harpoons for 
spearing, Micmac-Montagnais, 40; hunted 
by Beothuk, 49; hunting territories concerned 
with, 131 
Caribou-antler, on Beothuk sites, 21; snowshoe 

needles, Micmac-Montagnais, 39-40 
Caribou-skin, bags in Newfoundland, 39; 
Beothuk: bone implement for dehairing, 24- 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



163 



25; clothing of, 43; foot-wear of, 35-36, 51, 
75; wigwam lined with, 48; canoes, 60; capote 
of Newfoundland, 34; wool from, 37 
Carlwrighi, Journal, cited, 73-75 
Caughnawaga, Quebec, Iroquois of, 107 
Caves, see Fairy Holes 
Ceremonial simplicity of Beothuk, 15. Pee 

Annual ceremony 
Chapel island, Micmac festival at, 120; Micmac 

settlement at, 107 
Chappell. Edivard, Voyage of H. M.'s Ship 

Rosamond, cited, 124-125, 155 
Charms, among Micmac-Montagnais, 42-43 
Charts, see Maps 

Checkerwork design on caribou-skin coats, 34 
Chegogun harbor, Micmac name for, 140 
Chert chips on Beothuk sites, 21 
Chief, Beothuk, wigwam of, 22; Micmac, bark 
map belonging to, 98; Micmac, gift of schooner 
to, 121; Micmac hunting territories distrib- 
uted by, 88, 92, 150; of Newfoundland band, 
125-126; chiefs, Micmac districts divided 
among, 94-95; Micmac, French names of, 
114; Micmac, numerous family determining, 
91; Micmac, of Cape Breton island, 94-95, 
106-107, 125-126, 131, 144, 150. See Grand 
chief 
Chieftaincies, Micmac, 94-95 
Children, Beothuk, dyeing of, 63; Micmac- 
Montagnais, dress of, 35 
Chippewan stock, reputed relation of Beothuk to, 

71 
Chips on Beothuk sites, 21, '24 
Chisels, slate, pre-Algonkian, 13-14 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



164 



BEOTHUKAND MICMAC 



Ciboux islands, Gluskap's canoe broken on, 146 

Clan, see Gens 

Clarke, J . M., Observations on the Magdalen 
Islands, cited, 153 

Clay, red, Beothuks stained with, 51 

Clode sound, Micmac band at, 143 

Clothing suspended from hoop, 31. See Dress 

Coats, children's, of Micmac-Montagnais, 35; 
hooded, Beothuk, 43; sealskin, Micmac- 
Montagnais, 34. See Capote 

Codroy, Micmac at, 137 

Color of Beothuk, 44, 51; colors, determining 
patterns, 38; rabbit-wool bands in, 38-39. 
See Dyeing; Painting; Red 

Conne river, Micmac settlements at, 27, 121, 137 

Cooking utensils, suspended from hoop, 31 

Cope, a common Micmac surname, 79. See 
Kop 

Coptis trifolia, see Yellow thread 

Cormack, Win. E., Narrative, cited, 33, 73, 74. 
80, 141-145 

Counters in Beothuk dice-and-bowl game, 62 

Crooked knife, Micmac term for, 75; Micmac- 
Montagnais, 39 

Cross, emblem of Miramichi Indians, 96; 
crosses, hunting and fishing territories marked 
by, 89, 106 

Culture, Beothuk, material, 13-15, 20-22, 
24-25, 29-46, 74-76, 122-123, 169-170; 
Beothuk, social, 62-64, 80; Micmac-Mont- 
agnais, material, 18-19, 83-86; Micmac- 
Montagnais, social, 83-86. See Hunting 
territory 

Culture-hero, see Gluskap 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



Dahl, R. S., interest of, in Santu, 79; on Micmac 
settlements and hunters in Newfoundland, 
137-138 
Dance, Beothuk, after murder, 54 
Dawson, Sir William, on Beothuk origins, 71-72 
Day, John, Peyton accompanied by, 50, 53 
Death, washing connected with, 80 
Decoration of caribou-skin coat, 34-35 
Deer, in totemic emblem, 97 
Deer-fences, Beothuk, 46-47. See Caribou 
Denys, John, Grand chief of Micmac, 107, 149 
Denys, Nicholas, cited, 46, 74, 89, 149 
Denys, Tomah, migration of Micmac under, 108 
Descendants of Beothuk, 69. See Santu 
Designs on coats, 34 
Dice-and-boui game of Beothuk, 62-63 
Digby, canoe voyage from, 154; hunting claim 

in court at, 98 
Dildo Arm, accident to Beothuk near, 52 
Discs, of dice-and-bowl game, 63, 80 
Dog, Gluskap's, 148; non-domestication of, 

among Beothuk, 44 
Doublet, Jean and Francois, interest of, in Mag- 
dalen islands, 153 
Doublet, Madeleine, Magdalen islands named 

for, 153 
Dress, Beothuk, 17, 43; Beothuk survivals in, 
Micmac-Montagnais, 33-39; Micmac-Mont- 
agnais, adorned with colored designs, 38-39; 
Montagnais, in Newfoundland, 127 
Dyeing of bodies, Beothuk, 15, 17, 43, 51, 63- 
'64, 73; of caribou-skin bag, Micmac-Montag- 
nais, 39; of moccasins, Beothuk, 36-37, 122. 
See Clay; Painting 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



165 



166 



BEOTHUKAND M I C M A C 



Ears, hair dressed over, in Newfoundland, 35 

East, artifacts typical of, 25, 44 

Ebegwi- denax, Micmac for Prince Edward 
Island Indians, 114-115 

Election of chief of Micmac band, 152 

Emblems, animal, 95-98. See Totemism 

Embroidery among Montagnais, 39 

English, grant from, to Micmac, 124-125; St 
George's river named by, 28; war of, with 
French, 108 

Eskasoni, capital village of Micmac tribe, 93, 
107, 125, 150 

Eskegawaage, a Micmac chieftaincy, 95 

Eskimo, culture, Beothuk related to, 11-12, 40, 
41, 70; culture, survivals in Newfoundland, 
127; hide canoes of, 33; marriages of, with 
Beothuk, 65 

Ethnological table, 45-46 

Exogamy, 149; among Ojibwa, 85; not practised 
among Micmac, 87, 113 

Exploits river, Beothuk sites on, 12, 19, 24-25; 
Buchan's expedition up, 49, 77; ethnological 
collection from region of, 44; hunting terri- 
tories around, 129; murder near, 53-54; red 
clay on, 51; schooner's clock found on, 53 

Extermination of Beothuk, 11-13, 18, 47,, 49- 
51, 53-54, 77-78, 117 

Fairy Holes, Gluskap's home at, 146, 156 
Family group, among Algonkians, 87; among 

Micmac, 89-91 
Family hunting territory, see Hunting territory 
Famine, bark eaten in, 45, 77. See Starvation 
Fear, cause of Beothuk destruction, 28-29, 

47-48, 52, 144 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



167 



Fences, caribou, Beothuk, 19-20; caribou, in 
Labrador, 73; deer, Beothuk, 46-47 

Fire-arms, Beothuk fear of, 28, 47, 52, 144 

Fire-place of Beothuk, 21, 24 

Fires, see Beacon fires; Forest fires 

Fish eggs, as food, 153 

Fisher, absent from Newfoundland, 131 

Fishermen, Beothuk forays on, 21 

Fishing, districts, Micmac, 113, 117; imple- 
ments, Micmac, 148; in Newfoundland, 131 

Fish-spears of Micmac-Montagnais, 40-41 

Flakes, see Chips 

Flint chips on Beothuk sites, 21 

Folklore, see Legend 

Food, Beothuk, 21, 61-62 

Forest fires, destruction of Beothuk fences by, 
19-20 

Fox, hunting of, in Newfoundland, 131 

Framework of Beothuk canoe, 60 

Francis, Joe, former chief of Prince Edward 
Island band, 152 

French, blood in Micmac chief, 144; Micmac 
allies of, 108, 124; names of Micmac chiefs, 
114; schooners, Micmac voyages on, 120-121 

Fur, Beothuk garments lined with, 43 

Gabriel, a Micmac encountered by Cormack, 

144-145 
Gambo, Micmac settlement at, 137 
Games, of Beothuk, 62-63; of Micmac, 80 
Game-totem, see Use-totem 
Ganda Bay, Micmac band at, 143 
Gander lake, hunting territories around, 129 
Ganong, W. F., cited, 46, 74, 96, 149, 151 
Garters, Micmac, weaving of, 37 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



168 



BEOTHUKAND M I C M A C 



Gaspesians, see LeClercq 

Gatschet, A. S., cited on Beothuk, 11, 44-45 

Gens, among Micmac, 91, 95-98; exogamic, of 
Algonkian, 85, 87 

Geological Survey of Canada, ethnological sur- 
veys made for, 83-85 

Geological Survey of Newfoundland, collections 
in museum of, 43-44; Howley of, 55 

Gesticulation, among Beothuk, 66 

Glenwood, Newfoundland, Micmac settlement 
at, 137 

Gloucester, Mass., discovery of Santu at, 56; 
Toney at, 79 

Gluskap, Cape Breton version of, 145-149, 151; 
Micmac culture-hero, 109 

Goldenweiser, A. A., use-totem discussed b}', 85 

Gontgont, Emanuel, Cormack housed by, 145 

Grand chief of Micmac, 106-107 

Grand lake, hunting territories around, 129; 
last appearance of Beothuk at, 54 

Grand Manaan, canoe voyage to, 154 

Grandmother, Gluskap's, 148 

Graves, Beothuk, perforated teeth in, 43 

Great Bras d'Or, Gluskap's passage through, 147 

Great Cod Roy river, Micmac band at, 143 

Great Lakes, Santu living on, 59; wigwam con- 
struction characteristic of, 31 

Greenland, intermarriages of Beothuk in, 65 

Gulf of St Lawrence, Micmac voyages in, 125, 153 

Gull eggs as food, 153 

Gunpowder, Beothuk blown up with, 50 

Gunwale, Beothuk type of, 32-33 

Hair, Beothuk style of dressing, 35 
Hair-removers of Micmac-Montagnais, 39-49 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



169 



Halifax, comprised in Micmac chieftaincy, 95 
Hall's Bay, Micmac settlement at, 137 
Hammers, stone, on Beothuk sites, 24 
Hampton Beach, N. H., Santu at, 67 
Handles, wooden, of awls, 39 
Hare-skin, wool from, 37 

Harpoon, Beothuk, 61; Micmac term for, 76; 
Micmac-Montagnais, 40-41; sea-mammals 
killed with, 61-62 
Hartigan, Mr, Beothuk traditions related by, 52 
Hartland, E. S., on social evolution, 84 
Hide-scrapers, of Micmac-Montagnais, 39-40 
Hinx family, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 
Hodge's mountain, Beothuk traditions of, 48, 

139 
Hoop, used in wigwam construction, 31, 73-74 
Howley, J. P., acknowledgment to, 141; Beo- 
thuks or Red Indians of Newfoundland, cited, 
15, 17, 32, 41, 46, 71-77, 156; collection 
gathered by, 43-44; list of Micmac settlements 
obtained from, 137; on veracity of Santu, 55- 
56 
Hudsonian zones, social life of tribes of, 84 
Hunting, camps, Micmac, on Cape Breton, 113- 
114; importance of, in Newfoundland, 143- 
144; Micmac implements for, 148; Micmac- 
Montagnais charms for, 42-43; of caribou 
by Beothuk, 19-20, 73; on Prince Edward 
island, 115 
Hunting territory, Algonkian society based on, 
71, 83-86; in interior, 139, 144; Micmac, aver- 
age size of, 136-137; Micmac, in Cape Breton 
island, 106-114; Micmac, in Nova Scotia, 
86-106; Micmac, in Prince Edward island, 
114-117; Micmac-Montagnais, in Newfound- 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



170 



BEOTHUK AND MIC M A C 



land, 117-138, 143-144; probable Beothuk, 
139, 144 

Implements, on Beothuk sites, 21, 22, 24; stone, 

pre-Algonkian, 13. See Fishing implements; 

Hunting; Lances; Stone age 
Indian island, Me., wigwam-pits on, 31 
Indian island, N. S., Gluskap starts beaver at, 

147 
Inheritance, of hunting territories, 86, 92, 113, 

117-118, 135-136 
Interior, flight of Beothuk to, 28-29; hunting 

territories in, 139, 144 
Iron implements on Beothuk sites, 21, 24. See 

Metal 
Iroquois, hostility of, to Wabanaki, 29; Mic- 

mac relations with, 107, 154 

Jack, E., on Beothuk traditions, 17 
Jack pine, see Bank's pine 
Jcddore family, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 
Joe, Andrew, hunting territory of, 135-136 
Joe family, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 
Joe, John, Gluskap myth related by, 146-149 
Joe, Tom, hunting magic of, 127; hunting terri- 
tory of, 135-136 
John family, at Bay d'Espoir, 138; hunting terri- 
tories of, 128 
John, James, mentioned by Cormack, 142, 155 
John, Louis, account of last Beothuk by, 48, 
53-54; on relations between Beothuk and 
Micmac, 54; share in hunting territory offered 
by, 131 
Jore, Ben, grandfather of, killed bv Beothuk, 
53-54 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



171 



Jukes, J. B., Excursions in Newfoundland, 

cited, 73 
Julian, Joe, share in hunting territory offered 

to, 131 

Kaspoogwit, a Micmac chieftaincy, 95 

Kayak, Beothuk canoe like, 60-61 

Keel, Beothuk type of, 32 

Keelson, of Beothuk canoe, 79 

KQn'i'bewa'tc, Micmac term for Penobscot, 155- 

156 
Kennebec River band, Micmac term for, 155-156 
Killing of tabooed animal, 122 
King George IV lake, Mitchell hunting territory 

about, 135 
Knives, iron, on Beothuk sites, 21-24. See Crooked 

knife 
Kop, name of Santu's father, 57, 58 

Labrador, Beothuk descendants in, 69; Beothuk 
relations with, 65; caribou fences in, 73; 
Micmac voyages to, 125; Montagnais migra- 
tion from, 25, 118, 126-127, 141, 143; Montag- 
nais of, 15-16, 35, 48; 
Lake Wasanipi, survey of hunting territories 

from, 85 
Lance-heads, slate, pre-Algonkian, 13-14 
Lances, Micmac-Montagnais, 40-41 
Landmarks, Micmac, in Newfoundland, 26-27 
Language of Beothuk, authorities on, 11-13 
Leather, dyeing of, Beothuk, 122 
Leaves, smoking of, among Beothuk, 62 
LeClercq, Father Chretien, New Relation of 
Gaspesia, cited, 46, 71, 74, 88, 89, 91, 96, 
98-99, 149-150 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



172 



BEOTHUKAND MICMAC 



Legend, of beaver, 126-127; of black weasel, 28; 
of Gluskap r 145-149; of Hodge's mountain, 
48, 139; of Magdalen islands, 153; of moose, 
115; of quarrel between Beothuk and Mic- 
mac, 122, 154. See Traditions 
Leggings, Beothuk, 17 

Leland, C. G., Algonquin Legends of New Eng- 
land, cited, 72-73 
Lewis, Reuben, chief, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 
Little river, Micmac camp on, 144-145 
Lloyd, T. G. B., on Beothuk vocabulary, 67 
Logs, winter wigwams of, 31-32, 73-74 
Loin cloth, Beothuk, 17 

Look-out tree at Red Indian point, 23, 78-79 
Loom, Micmac, 37-38 
Louis, Noel, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 
Loiiisburg, retreat of French to, 108 
Lowie, R. II., Primitive Society, cited, 83, 149 
Lynx teeth as charms among Micmac-Montag- 
nais, 43 

McCloud, George, knowledge of, of Beothuk, 69 
McDonald, Frank, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 
McEwan, John, acknowledgment to, 94; Guide's 
Prize Story, cited, 151; map of hunting terri- 
tory by, 99, 106 

Magdalen islands, Micmac voyages to, 153 

Magic, hunting, in Newfoundland, 126-127 

Main river, see St George's river 

Maine, aboriginal culture in, 13-15; Penobscot 
of, 15, 155-156; perforated stones in, 42; 
prehistoric Algonkian culture in, 71; wigwam- 
pits in, 31 

Malagawatch, Micmac settlement at, 107 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



Malecite, at Oldtown, Me., 115; cognate Algon- 
kian roots in language, 76; term for Beothuk, 
16; termfor woman, 66; totemic emblem of, 
97; traditions among, concerning Beothuk, 
16-17 
Mallery, G., Picture-writing of the American 

Indians, cited, 96-98, 150 
Maple splint baskets, Micmac-Montagnais, 

mainland origin of, 41 
Maps, birch-bark, Micmac, 17, 98-99, 142 
Marriage, customs among Beothuk, 80; customs 
among Micmac, 90, 92-93, 130-131; of Beo- 
thuk with outsiders, 64-66; of Beothuk with 
wolverene, 72-73; of Santu, 59-60 
Mary March, capture of, 50-51, 53, 77-78 
Mary March brook, Beothuk site on, 22; capture 

of Beothuk on, 50, 77 
Mary March's point, Beothuk captured at, 50- 

lookout-tree on, 78-79 
Massey, Miss, on Micmac maps, 98 
Mathews family, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 
MatriUneality, theories of, 84 
Mays, G. V '., on birch-bark map, 17 
Ma'yzme-gwik, Micmac settlement of, 121 
Meat, gift of, to Beothuk, 51-52 
Mechling, W. H., Malecite Tales, cited, 17, 72 
Meelpegh lake, Montagnais hunting territory 
at, 139, 142 y 

Me'kwe'isit, Malecite term for Beothuk, 17 
Memramcook, a Micmac chieftaincy, 95 
Meski-gtmvi-'ddn, village-site near Seal rocks, 

27, 139 
Metal, fragments on Beothuk sites, 21; schooners 
robbed for, 21. See Iron Implements 



173 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



174 



BEOTHUK AND MICMAC 



Meyu.'e'djewa''gi', Micmac name of Red Indian 
lake, 46, 139 

Meywe' f dji'djik, Micmac term for Beothuk, 18 

Meywe''djik, Micmac-Montagnais term for 
Beothuk, 27 

Mcyive'za'xsi't, Micmac name for Hodge's 
mountain, 48, 139 

Michel, Matty, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 

Micmac, annual ceremony of, 120; camp-site 
at Red Indian point, 23-24; chief on Prince 
Edward island, 151-152; culture, Beothuk 
survivals in, 24-25, 32-33, 44-46, 63, 69-70, 
75, 79; culture, comparative study of, 70; 
culture survivals of, in Newfoundland, 41-42, 
122; Gluskap myth of, 145-149; guide to 
Beothuk sites, 20; hunting territory among, 
83-86; hunting territories in Cape Breton 
island, 106-114; hunting territories in Nova 
Scotia, 86-106; hunting territories in Prince 
Edward island, 114-117; marriage of Santu 
with, 67-69; marriages of Beothuk with, 59, 
65-66; migration of, to Newfoundland, 25- 
27, 118-125; place-names, Beothuk survivals 
in, 46-47; place-names in Newfoundland, 
138-140; totemic emblem of, 97; traditions 
among, concerning Beothuk, 17-19, 71-74; 
vocabulary, 66; weaving among, 37-39; 
wigwam among, 30-31. See Micmac-Mon- 
tagnais 

Micmac-Montagnais, Cormack among, 141-145; 
culture, 37; culture, Beothuk survivals in, 
29-30, 33-39, 44-46; hunting territories in 
Newfoundland, 117-138; traditions concern- 
ing Beothuk among, 21-22, 25-29, 46-54. 
See Micmac; Montagnais 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 


175 


Middle river, Gluskap kills beaver at, 147; 

Micmac settlement at, 107 
Migration, Micmac, eastward trend of, 136-137; 
Micmac, to Newfoundland, 25-27, 118-125; 
Montagnais, to Newfoundland, 118-127 
Millertown, Beothuk traditions from, 52-53; 
Mary March's point at, 50; Red Indian 
point near, 47 
Millertown Junction, Beothuk traditions from, 

52, 54 
Minas basin, created by Gluskap, 147-148 
Mink, absent from Newfoundland, 131 
Miramichi Indians, cross emblem of, 96 
Mistassini, hunting territory among, 86 
Mitchell, Mathew, hereditary chieftaincy of, 135 
Moccasins, Beothuk, 17; Beothuk influence on, 
35-37; suspended from hoop, 31. See Boot- 
moccasin 
Mohawk, Micmac alliance with, 107; Santu's 

marriage with, 59 
Moisie river, Montagnais along, 18 
Montagnais, cognate Algonkian roots in lan- 
guage, 760; culture, Beothuk resemblances to, 
11-12, 24-25, 44-46, 70; culture, survivals of, 
in Newfoundland, 33-36. 39, 41, 122, 126- 
127; eating of bark by, 45; hunting territory 
among, 85, 86; in Newfoundland, Cormack 
among, 141-142; migration of, to Newfound- 
land, 118; of Labrador, 15-16, 48, 73; tradi- 
tions among, concerning Beothuk, 18; weav- 
ing among, 38; wigwam of, 30-31. See 
Micmac-M ontagn ais 
Moorehead, W. K., Red Paint People, cited, 13, 
71 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





176 



BEOTHUKAND MICMAC 



Moose, slaughter of, on Prince Edward island, 

115 
Moose-skin canoe-mat. Gluskap's, 146-147; 

canoes, 33 
Morgan, L. H., on social evolution, 84 
Morris, Reuben, Micmac chief, 125 
Moss, winter wigwams chinked with, 32 
Mji I grave lake, Siah's hunting territory about, 

106 
Murder of Beothuk by Micmac, 28 
Muskrat, in totemic emblem, 97 
Mutch, J. R., acknowledgment to, 151 
Myth, totemic, of Penobscot, 87. See Legend 

Nails, metal, on Beothuk sites, 21 

Names, Christian, among Micmac, 114. See 

Tables 
Naskapi, in Newfoundland, 126-127; timidity 

of, 48 
Needles for snowshoes, Micmac-Montagnais, 

39-40; Micmac term for, ' 76. See Awl; 

Netting-needles 
Netting-needles, Micmac-Montagnais, 39-40. 

See Needles 
New Brunswick, Malecite of, 16-17; Micmac 

chiefs in, 114; Micmac place-names in, 140; 

migration of Micmac from, 108; relative 

standing of bands in, 137; Santu in, 59 
Newell, Joe and Tom, Fairy Holes visited by, 156 
New England, coast, aboriginal culture of, 13-15; 

Santu in, 59-60 
Newfoundland, Beothuk remains in, 11-54; 

Beothuk tradition in, 72-73; material culture 

of, 29-44; Micmac migration to, 155; Micmac 

of, 86-87; Micmac place-names in, 138-140; 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 


177 


Micmac-Montagnais hunting territories in, 
117-138; Micmac-Montagnais of, 25; 33-43, 
86-87; Montagnais of, 16; tenure of hunting 
territories in, 109 
Newfoundland band, see Micmac-Montagnais 
Northeastern culture, implements characteristic 

of, 40 
North Pole, Gluskap residing beyond, 149 
Nova Scotia, Gluskap legend in, 147-149, 156; 
Micmac canoes of, 33; Micmac hunting terri- 
tories in, 86-106; Micmac place-names in, 140; 
migration of Micmac from, 108; porcupine- 
quills exported from, 41-42; Santu in, 59, 65; 
size of hunting territory in, 136-137; tradi- 
tions concerning Beothuk in, 71-72 
Noya'mkisk, Newfoundland, Micmac settle- 
ment of, 121 
Nudjo'yn, village-site on St George's bay, 27 

Ocher, see Red ocher 

Ojibwa, hunting territory among, 85-87 

Oldtown, Maine, Indian band at, 115 

Orchard, W. C, Notes on Penobscot Houses, 

cited, 74 
Osag9ne''wi'ak, Penobscot term for Red Indians, 

15-16 
Osa'yan'ax, Micmac term for Beothuk or 

Montagnais, 16, 18, 56, 60, 65-67 
Ottawa, ethnological collection in, 18-19 
Otter, in totemic emblem, 97 
Otter-skin, Beothuk clothing lined with, 43; 

wool from, 37 

Pacifique, Father, on Micmac place-names, 95 
Pack-straps, weaving of Micmac, 37 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





178 



BEOTHUKAND MICMAC 



Paddle, Gluskap's, 147-148; in totemic emblem, 
97 

Painting, coats of Beothuk decorated with, 43; 
colored designs in place of, 39; of caribou- 
skin coats, 34-35. See Color; Dyeing 

Paliser, Gov., Micmac migration limited by, 155 

Passamaquoddy, derivation of term, 150; emblem 
of, 96-97; hostility of, to Mohawk, 73; tra- 
ditions among, concerning Beothuk, 72-73 

Palrilineality, among Algonkian, 84-86 

Pattern, in weaving, Micmac-Montagnais, 38 

Patterson, on Beothuk terms, 67 

Paid family, at Bay d'Espoir, 138; hunting 
territories of, 128 

Paul, Frank, on crossing of Cabot strait, 120 

Paul, Gabe, acknowledgment to, 115 

PjjuI, John, acknowledgment to, 24, 78; 
acquaintance of, with Santu, 68-69; irregular 
tenure of, 135-136; on Buchan's expedition, 
49-51; on Micmac dress, 34; on Micmac 
place-names in Newfoundland, 124; on Mon- 
tagnais hunters in Newfoundland, 126-127; 
on relations between Beothuk and Micmac, 
51; on separation of Beothuk from Micmac, 
27-29 

Penobscot, alleged animal ancestry among, 85; 
at Old town, Me., 115; boundary signs among, 
94; cognate Algonkian roots in language of, 
76; hoop in wigwam construction of, 31; hunt- 
ing territory of, 86; Micmac term for, 155— 
156; perforated stones among, 42; term for 
living creature, 66; totemic emblem of, 97; 
traditions among, concerning Beothuk, 15- 
16 

Penobscot river, wigwam-pits along, 31 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



179 



Perforated stones, among Micmac-Montagnais, 
42-43 

Persecution, see Extermination 

Peyton, John, Beothuk vocabulary of, 67; expe- 
dition of, against Beothuk, 50-51, 53; on 
Buchan's expedition, 78 

Pictography of Wabanaki, 96-98 

Pictou, a Micmac chieftaincy, 95; Gluskap at, 
148 

Pigments, see Painting 

Pine-bark, red dye derived from, 36-37 

Pinus balsamifera, bark of, as food, 45 

Pipes, improvised, of Micmac-Montagnais, 41; 
stone, of Beothuk, 62; 

Pitcher-plant, leaf of, used as pipe by Micmac- 
Montagnais, 41 

Pits, see Wigwam-pits 

Place-names, Beothuk survivals in, 46-47; 
Micmac, in Newfoundland, 26, 123-124, 
138-140; Micmac, in Nova Scotia,. 94-95; 
Micmac, on Cape Breton island, 114; Montag- 
nais, 85; of hunting districts, 113. See Tables 

Plains, wigwam construction typical of, 31 

Plaster cove, Gluskap at, 146 

Poles, in totemic emblem, 97 

Pollock, in totemic emblem, 97 

Poplar, edible rind of, 77 

Porcupine, not native to Newfoundland, 41-42, 
131 

Porpoise, hunting of, 154 

Port Blandford, Micmac settlement at, 137 

Portneuf river, survey of hunting territories to, 
85 

Post, loom attached to, 37-38; posts, of winter 
wigwam, 32 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



180 



BEOTHUKAND MICMAC 



Pot, Gluskap's, 148 

Pottery, absence of, among Beothuk, 44 

Pouch, Micmac term for, 75. See Bags 

Powell, J. W., on Beothuk language, 11 

Pre-Algonkian culture in Maine, 13-15 

Prince Edward island, French governor of, 144; 

Micmac chiefs in, 114, 151-152; Micmac 

hunting territories in, 114-117 
Prince, J. D., Passamaquoddy Documents, 

cited, 73, 154 
Prophecy of Gluskap, 148-149 
Pullet, Ned, at Bay d'Espoir, 138 
Punishment, washing as, 64 

Quarrel between Beothuk and Micmac, legend 

of, 122, 154 
Quebec, Micmac at battle of, 108; survey of 

hunting territories in, 8^ 
Quillwork of Micmac, 41-42 

Rabbit wool, weaving of, 37-39 
Raccoon, absent from Newfoundland, 131 
Rand, S. T., Legends of the Micmac, cited, 98, 
151, 154-155; Micmac Dictionary, cited, 
72-76; Micmac place-names recorded by, 140, 
156 
Raslcs, Father, letter to, cited, 154 
Red, and black, checkerwork in, 34; bags, dyed, 
39; body dyed, among Beothuk, 15, 17, 43, 
51, 57, 63-64, 72-73; boots and moccasins 
dyed, 36; clay on Exploits river, 51; leather 
dyed, 122 
Red Indian jails, caribou fence above, 20 
Red Indian lake, Beothuk ceremony at, 62-64; 
Beothuk sites on, 12, 19, 44-51, 142; hunt- 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 


181 


ing territories around, 129; Mary March's cap- 
ture at, 77-78; Micmac name for, 46, 139; 
Santu born near, 56, 58 

Red Indian point, a Beothuk site, 22-24, 46-47; 
capture of Beothuk at, 49-51 

Red Indians, 16. See Beothuk 

Red island, creation of, by Gluskap, 147 

Red ocher, seams of coats smeared with, 34-35; 
use of, by Beothuk, 13, 72-73 

Red Pond, see Red Indian lake 

Red root, bodies of Beothuk dyed with, 63-64; 
of Red Indian lake, 58 

Red-willow bark, smoking of, by Micmac-Mon- 
tagnais, 41 

Restigouche, a Micmac chieftaincy, 95; salmon 
emblem of, 96 

Rivers, W. H. R., use-totem discussed by, 85 

Roasting of meat, Beothuk, 62 

Robberies committed by Beothuk, 21, 53 

Rocks, creation of, by Gluskap, 146-148 

Rushy pond, Buchan at 49 

Sable, absent from Newfoundland, 131 

St Ann's day, Micmac celebration of, 120 

St Croix river, Micmac name for, 140 

St Francis Abnaki, Micmac term for, 155 

St Georges Bay, Beothuk village at, 118 

St Georges bay, grant on, to Micmac, 124-125; 

Micmac place-names on, 138-139; Micmac 

settlements on, 27, 118, 121-122, 137; Mon- 

tagnais hunting on, 142 
St Georges harbor, Cormack at, 145; Micmac 

band at, 143 
St George's river, formerly called Main river, 28 
St Johns, N. B., canoe voyage to, 154 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





182 



BEOTHUKAND MIC MAC 



St Johns, Newfoundland, Mary March captive 

at, 50-51, 78; visit with Howley at, 55 
St Lawrence river, Montagnais north of, 16, 137; 

Montagnais of, 18; remains along lower, 71; 

survey of hunting territories to, 85; tribes 

bordering, Beothuk resemblance to, 45 
St Mary's bay in St Lawrence, Micmac name for, 

140 
St Patrick's bay, Gluskap at, 147 
St Paul's island, Micmac voyages to, 119-120 
St Peter's channel, Gluskap's pursuit of beaver 

through, 147 
Salmon, emblem of Restigouche Indians, 96 
Sandy point, Micmac-Beothuk site near, 27-28 
Santu, Beothuk descent of, 24, 55-60, 67-69; 

information given by, 16, 60-67; veracity of, 

79 
Sapir, Edward, acknowledgment to, 19 
Sapir, J. D., acknowledgment to, 67 
Sark, John, chief of Prince Edward Island band, 

151-152 
Sarracena purpurea, see Pitcher plant 
Sa'yewedjki'k, or ancients, of Newfoundland, 

26, 123-124 
Schooner, dismantling of, by Beothuk, 21, 53; 

French, Micmac voyaging on, 121; Indian 

voyages on, 26-27 
Sealing, in Newfoundland, 131; Micmac-Mon- 

tagnais harpoons for, 40 
Seal rocks, Beothuk and Micmac site near, 27 
Sealskin, canoes, 60; coats, Micmac origin of, 

34; moccasin, 36 
Sea mammals, Beothuk food, 61-62 
Settlements, see Village 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



183 



Sewing of Beothuk canoe, 60; on bark recep- 
tacles, 76 

Ship, see Schooner 

Ship harbor, Micmac place-name in, 140 

Shipwreck, Beothuk assistance at, 64 

Shubenacadie, a Micmac village, 93, 95 

Siah, Solomon, map belonging to, 99, 106 

Sigunikt, see Shubenacadie 

Silk, embroidery in Montagnais, 39 

Sites, Beothuk, 12, 19-25; Beothuk and Micmac, 
at St Georges bay, 27-29. See Campsites; 
Village; Wigwam-pits 

Skin, bags in Newfoundland, 39; canoes, Beo- 
thuk, 33, 60-61, 74 

Skunk absent from Newfoundland, 131 

Slate, lance-heads, pre-Algonkian, 13-14 

Smethurst, Gamaliel, Narrative of an Extraor- 
dinary Escape, cited, 151 

Smith's lake, N. S., hunting territories at, 151 

Smoking among Beothuk, 41, 62 

Snowshoe, Beothuk, 75; Micmac-Montagnais 
type of, 39 

Social organization of Beothuk, 15. See 
Hunting territory 

Song of Santu, 67-68 

Spear, Micmac term for, 76 

Speck, F. G., Ancient Archeological Site on the 
Lower St Lawrence, cited, 71; Decorative 
Art and Basketry of the Cherokee, cited, 76; 
Double Curve Motive in Northeastern 
Algonkian Art, cited, 75 

Spinning, among Micmac, 37 

Splint basketry, distribution of, 76; Micmac- 
Montagnais, 41 

Split point, Gluskap kills beaver at, 147-148 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



184 



BEOTHUKAND MICMAC 



Spruce, keelson of, 79; Mary March's, 78-79. 
See Lookout-tree 

Spruce-bark, Beothuk, canoe stiffened with, 60; 
red dye derived from, 36-37 

Stain, see Dyeing 

Starvation of Beothuk, 48. See Extermination 

Stevensville, Beothuk-Micmac settlement near, 
27, 121-122 

Stone age, Beothuk culture of, 21; implements, 
absence of pre-Algonkian, 13; implements, 
collection of, 43-44; implements on Beothuk 
sites, 24; pipes of Beothuk, 62. See Chips; 
Implements; Slate 

Stones, see Perforated stones 

Straits of' Belle Isle, Montagnais crossing, 126; 
Montagnais near, 18 

Sydney, Micmac chief at, 131; Micmac settle- 
ment at, 107 

Sylvester, Joseph, guide to Cormack, 141 

Table Head, Gluskap dines at, 147 

Tables of Micmac hunting territories, 100-105, 
110-112, 116, 132-134 

Taboo concerning black weasel, 28; tabooed 
animal, killing of, 122 

Tanning, among Beothuk, 43 

Ta'yamkuk', Micmac name of Newfoundland, 
119 

Tay'amkuyewa'x, Micmac name of Newfound- 
land band, 119 

Teeth, perforated, among Micmac-Montagnais, 
43 

Terra Nova river, Micmac place-names on, 140 

Thwaites, R. G., edition of Jesuit Relations, 
cited, 154 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



185 



Tides created by Gluskap, 147-148 

Tinne, reputed relationship of Beothuk to, 71 

Tipi, construction of, 31 

Tobacco, improvised pipe for, 41 

Toggle, Micmac-Montagnais, antler, 40 

Tonex, Abram, deep-sea voyages of, 154 

Toney, Joe, Santu's son, 56, 60; wanderings of, 

79. See Sanin 
Tools, metal for, 21. See Implements 
Totemism, absent among Micmac, 87; absent 

among Micmac-Montagnais, 113; among 

Penobscot, 85; significance of, 95-98 
Traditions concerning Beothuk, 15-18, 21-22, 

25-29, 46-54, 71-74. See Legend 
Traps, iron, on Beothuk sites, 22; Micmac, in 

Newfoundland, 143 
Tribes, see Band 

Trousers, caribou-skin, Beothuk, 35, 43 
Tuck, Mr, on death of Mary March, 53 
Turtle, Gluskap's uncle, 148 
Turtle-eggs, Micmac gambling phrase, 80 
Tuywe'gamnmi'guk\ Micmac name of St 

Paul's island, 119 
Twillingate, Beothuk encounter near, 52 

UnanW'gi, Micmac name of Cape Breton 

island, 107 
Us'a'gsn.ik, Malecite term for Montagnais, 16 
Use-totem, 85; among Micmac, 97-98. See 

Totemism 

Vaadreuil, M. de, letter of, cited, 154 

Victoria Museum, ethnological collection of 

Newfoundland in, 18-19 
Village, Beothuk-Micmac, 118, 122-123; vil- 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



186 



BEOTHUKAND MIC MAC 



lagcs, Micmac, in Xewfoundland, 118, 121- 
123, 137; Micmac, on Cape Breton island, 
114 
Village-sites, see Sites 
Vocabulary, Beothuk, 58, 66, 76 
Voyages, of Indians, 26, 28, 153-154 

Wabanaki, absence of splint basketry among, 
41 ; culture, Beothuk resemblances to, 44-46, 
63; dice-and-bowl game of, 79; hostility 
of, to Iroquois, 29; pictography of, 96-98; 
skin canoes of, 33; winter wigwams of, 31-32, 
73-74 

Wampum, Micmac ceremonial procedure with, 
107 

Washing, among Beothuk, 64, 80 

Water bucket, cognate terms for, 76 

Weasel, see Black weasel 

Weaving among Micmac, 37-39 

Whitbourne, Richard, Discourse on the Dis- 
covery of Newfoundland, cited, 76-77 

Whites, beheaded by Beothuk, 50; Gluskap's 
aid against, 148-149; relations of, with 
Beothuk, 49-54, 57, 64, 69, 77-78 

Whitnev, Caspar, on caribou in Xewfoundland, 
129. 

Wigwam, Beothuk, birch-bark, 30-31, 73-74; 
Beothuk, on Hodge's mountain, 48; chief's, 
at Red Indian point, 78; Micmac, on Cape 
Breton, 113-114. See Tipi 

Wigwam-pits, distinctive of Beothuk, 13, 20-22, 
24-25, 30-31, 40, 44 

Willoughby, C. C, Prehistoric Burial Places in 
Maine, cited, 13, 71 



INDIAN NOTES 



INDEX 



Wilson's lake, Newfoundland, Micmac camp 
on, 144-145 

Winter wigwams of Beothuk, 31-32, 73-74 

Wolverene, absent from Newfoundland, 131; 
marriage of Beothuk with, 72-73 

Women, peaked caps of, 35; quillwork of, 41-42 

Wood, awl-handles of, 39; Beothuk canoe 
framework of, 60; Micmac-Montagnais net- 
ting-needles of, 39-40; spindle of, 37 

Woodchuck, absent from Newfoundland, 131 

Wool, embroidery in, Montagnais, 9; weaving 
of, 37-39 

Wreck, see Shipwreck 

Wreck cove, Gluskap at, 146 

Wycogamagh, Gluskap at, 147; John Joe of, 
146; Micmac settlement at, 107 

Yarmouth hand, voyages of, 154 

Yarmouth, N. S., death of Santu at, 79; hunting 

territories near, 92; Santu married near, 59 
Yellow thread, yellow pigment from, 34 



187 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



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